Majority Whip and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Hon. Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor, has taken strong exception to what he describes as the Ghana Bar Association’s (GBA) “blatant bias” against President John Dramani Mahama and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a statement reacting to the list of advertised speakers for the GBA’s upcoming Annual Conference, the outspoken lawmaker criticized the leadership of the Bar for what he sees as a deliberate attempt to sideline the President.
He contrasted the current arrangement with the practices under the previous administration, insisting that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was given prominent space by the Association during his years in power.
“I saw how the GBA organised its Annual Conference from 2017 to 2024 in this country. The then President, Nana Akufo-Addo, was nearly always the Special Guest of Honour and Speaker. That isn’t the case in 2025. The President is conspicuously missing from the list of advertised speakers at the conference”.
Hon. Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor
The South Dayi legislator argued that the GBA’s failure to extend a similar gesture to President Mahama exposes the Association’s selective approach and undermines its credibility as a non-partisan professional body.
He described the decision as not only questionable but also a reflection of the Association’s longstanding hostility towards the NDC. According to him, the invitation of the President of the Bar Council of England and Wales, instead of the sitting President of Ghana, adds another layer of concern.
He noted that the foreign legal body had in recent times openly criticized the Mahama administration, and therefore its leader’s inclusion in the conference line-up appears far from coincidental.
“What’s curious is that the GBA leadership has rather decided to invite the President of the Bar Council of England and Wales, a group that recently attacked this Government without any provocation. GBA, kindly add the President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association for effect.”
Hon. Rockson Nelson Etse Dafeamakpor
Conscious Alignment with Opposition Forces
For him, the Bar’s choices betray not neutrality, but a conscious alignment with opposition forces against the government. “Your unalloyed bias against JDM and the NDC Government is too glaring to be ignored now. You can continue to act as a wing of the main opposition party to do its bidding, we are ready for you,” he warned.
The legislator’s comments underscore a growing tension between the ruling party and the Ghana Bar Association. Officials of the ruling party have often accused the Association of tilting in favour of the opposition New Patriotic Party.
Hon. Dafeamakpor’s attack is likely to rekindle an old debate over whether the GBA has maintained its neutrality or has become entangled in partisan battles.
His argument rests on the precedent set during Akufo-Addo’s presidency, when the Association routinely placed the President at the centre of its conferences. The absence of a similar invitation to President Mahama, in his view, cannot be explained away as a mere coincidence.
By highlighting what he considers bias in the GBA’s decisions, the Majority Whip appears keen to put pressure on such organizations to accord the government the respect he believes is due.
Hon. Dafeamakpor made it clear that the ruling party will not sit quietly while institutions, in his view, are deployed to weaken the legitimacy of President Mahama.
His insistence that the NDC is “ready” for the GBA sets the stage for a tense relationship between the government and one of Ghana’s most influential professional associations as the Mahama administration continues its first year in office.
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