Ministerial approval: ‘A-G has no constitutional mandate to advise Parliament’ — Oliver Barker

Ghanaian private legal practitioner and social critic, Oliver Barker Vormawor has argued that the Attorney General (A-G) has no constitutional authority to advise Parliament on matters of approving presidential nominees for ministerial positions.

He noted that while the AG is the principal legal advisor to the Executive branch, the constitution "does not use State and Government interchangeably."

According to him, "the other two branches [Legislature and Judiciary] are co-equal to the Executive branch. And as constitutional bodies, they have their right to read and interpret their constitutional obligations for themselves."

In his view, the AG overstepped his mandate when he sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament advising that an ongoing court case did not prevent MPs from approving ministerial nominees.

Mr. Barker pointed out in a post via X on Friday, March 22, that "the AG should also keep his conjectures to himself” because there is “Separation of Powers."

The legal practitioner was reacting to Attorney General Godfred Dame's letter to Speaker Alban Bagbin regarding a suit filed by MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor challenging President Akufo-Addo's cabinet reshuffle.

Mr. Dame stated that the suit consisted of a "bare writ of summons" without specifics, and did not stop Parliament from considering the president's nominees.

The current stalemate is a result of a letter sent by President Akufo-Addo to the Clark of Parliament.

The President ordered Parliament not to send the recently passed anti-gay bill to his office for assent.

In response, the Speaker informed the President that his new ministerial nominees would also not be approved due to Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor's court injunction.