Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sissala West, has firmly rejected claims that President John Dramani Mahama is attempting to orchestrate the removal of the Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkornoo.
Responding to ongoing allegations, Hon. Sukparu clarified that the President is merely following due constitutional process after receiving a petition from Ghanaian citizens concerning the conduct of the Chief Justice.
“Nobody has any plan of removing the chief justice, that must be known for. I mean, as a people of this country, the president of The Republic Of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, has no interest in removing the chief justice. His interest is to reset this country”
Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, MP for Sissala West
The MP said it is deeply concerning that individuals, including legal practitioners, are trying to spin a constitutionally lawful act into a political agenda against the judiciary.
Hon. Sukparu stressed that the President did not initiate the petition and is not acting outside the law.
“There is a petition. Unless of course, they are trying to tell us that they want the president to act unconstitutionally.
“Unless of course, they are trying to tell us that they want the president not to respect the constitution of this country. The president did not write the petition by himself”
Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, MP for Sissala West
He further explained that the petition was brought forward by ordinary citizens and the President’s role is clearly defined by the 1992 Constitution. The President, he said, is fulfilling his legal obligation by referring the matter to the Council of State for advice.
“So a petition is brought before the president, what he’s supposed to do is to look at it. He has looked at it and he says that okay, he needs further advice, so per the constitution, he referred the petition to the Council of State. That is exactly what he has done”
Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, MP for Sissala West
Due Process
Reiterating the President’s limitations in the matter, Sukparu emphasized that President Mahama does not have the power to remove the Chief Justice on his own accord. “It is not like the president has the power to just get up and say that like any of his appointees I am revoking your appointment.”
After all of these things, it is not the President who’ll say that the chief justice should step aside, he explained.
He also sought to reassure Ghanaians that the committee to investigate the petition would be composed of individuals with adequate legal competence and stature.
“The persons that are going to be made up of the committee are peers of the Chief Justice; they are the same justices in the Supreme Court with her and so why are people afraid? I’m surprised”
Hon. Mohammed Adams Sukparu, MP for Sissala West
Hon. Sukparu cautioned against politicizing a process that is, in his view, clearly spelt out in law. He challenged those making accusations to examine the Constitution instead of assigning ulterior motives to the President.
Constitutional Fidelity
Hon. Sukparu argued that any deviation from the established legal framework would amount to lawlessness, something President Mahama would never entertain.
“The Constitution says that if there is any petition about any of the justices, these are the stated and laid down procedures he must follow and now there’s a petition before him,” he emphasized.
He urged critics to consider the implications of asking the President to ignore a petition brought by the citizens he was elected to serve.
“Has he not done just what the law says that he should do?” Hon. Sukparu asked
The MP Sukparu ruled that President Mahama has acted with integrity and transparency by forwarding both the Chief Justice’s response and the petition to the Council of State for guidance.
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