I am going to court - Dafeamekpor threatens Akufo-Addo over reassigned ‘sacked’ ministers

The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has threatened to go to court to sue the president over his decision to reassign some persons he had earlier sacked without having parliament vet them.

According to him, once the president announced that they were sacked, reassigning them would require parliamentary approval by way of vetting them before they assume roles in their new offices.

As a result, he said he will resort to the Supreme Court to challenge the president's decision, and to seek an injunction to restrain the reassigned ministers from performing their duties until they are vetted by parliament.

The president on February 14, 2024, announced a major reshuffle in his government, the first since he assumed office in 2017.

He sacked 13 ministers and 10 deputies, including some of his key appointees, such as Ken Ofori-Atta, the finance minister, and Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the information minister.

He also reassigned four of the sacked ministers to different portfolios.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah as the Minister of Works and Housing, Francis Asenso-Boakye as the Minister of Roads and Highways, Henry Quartey as the Minister of The Interior, and Ambrose Dery as the Minister of State at the Office of the President.

Dafeamekpor argued that the president had no authority to reassign the sacked ministers without parliamentary vetting, as they had ceased to be ministers upon their dismissal.

“I have been challenged to go to court, so I will go to court… I want to know whether the president can invoke the appointment of a minister and turn around to say that he is reassigned to that same minister. If the Supreme Court will entertain things like that, then it is up to all of us,” he stated.

He noted that if the court does not explain the president’s action, future presidents may emulate the same, which will mean that they would bypass parliament to make their appointments.

“If we allow Akufo-Addo to allow these new ministers to step into their offices without vetting, a future president will dance around parliamentary scrutiny. He will appoint his ministers and they will never come to parliament for vetting,” he argued.

To him, the president had created confusion and problems for himself and his government by including the reassigned ministers in the list of those he had sacked.

“You are saying that you have dismissed some people, but it didn't state how long the dismissal lasts. As soon as you dismiss them, you reassign them. The initial letter didn't say which ministers had been dismissed and which ones were reassigned; it stated that all of them had been dismissed.

“Moments later, you bring out another letter to say that you have reassigned some of the sacked ministers. Once some were given new offices, it amounted to a fresh appointment. The president shouldn't have included those he wanted to reassign in the list of those he sacked, this is where they created problems for themselves,” he added.

Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor was speaking on Accra-based Okay FM. 

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