Yesterday, I read with much sadness the statement released by the office of the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party, calling on Ghanaians to treat a legal opinion issued by the Constitutional Committee with much contempt. I say sadness because the General Secretary, who is not a lawyer or a person with any legal training whatsoever, displayed a high level of ignorance by issuing such a statement.

Of course a legal opinion is nothing but another opinion on the legal position of an act or conduct. It is not conclusive and many times, the opinion changes with the circumstances and further instructions. The Constitutional Committee’s opinion is not binding on the General Secretary unless it is adopted by the National Council (the body which the Constitutional Committee reports to) and the recommendations stated therein are imposed on the General Secretary to act accordingly.

My understanding is that the legal opinion was distributed to the Steering Committee of the National Executive Committee at the 25 August 2014 meeting, which was called at the direction of the National Council of Elders of the Party. Every executive member present at the meeting was given a copy of the opinion. Point 2 of the General Secretary’s statement dated 10 September 2014 is therefore pregnant with lies. I understand further that the legal opinion has not been presented to the National Council, simply because the Chairman of the Party, Paul Afoko, is refusing to call a National Council meeting.

Let me state emphatically that the Constitutional Committee did not issue their legal opinion to the media in the form of a press release or statement as is being implied by the office of the General Secretary. Secondly, unless the General Secretary can prove that the Constitutional Committee did indeed “leak” the legal opinion to the media, that allegation implied in his statement is mere conjecture. In fact, given that the legal opinion was given to all members present at the 25 August 2014 meeting of the Steering Committee, it is likely that any executive, including the General Secretary himself, could have “leaked” the legal opinion to the media for publication.

In light of the above, I strongly believe that it is time to invoke certain dormant provisions of the NPP’s Constitution against the General Secretary, who is under a misguided notion that he is above the Constitution.

The Constitution imposes duties on all members of the Party, including but not limited to, protecting and promoting the good name of the Party as well as the Party’s unity. Article 3(D) specifically states that “A member shall (i) protect and promote the good name of the Party; (ii) protect the unity of the Party; and (iii) be loyal and truthful to the Party.”

A member of the Party, who fails to carry out his or her duties, may be expelled on grounds of misconduct. Article 3(G) states that “a Member may be expelled from the Party on grounds of misconduct in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution, and upon such expulsion shall cease to be a Member.”

What amounts to misconduct for which a Member of the Party may be expelled is outlined in Article 4 of the Constitution, which sets out the “Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures” of the Party. Article 4(A)(7) states inter alia that “a complaint shall involve an allegation that any of the following acts of misconduct relates to a Member (i) violation of the duties of a Member; (v) creation of discord or factionalism within the Party; and (vi) bringing the name of the Party into disrepute or public ridicule.”

I am of the humble view that the General Secretary’s conduct, and in particular the 10 September 2014 press statement contravenes his duties as a Member of the Party and therefore he ought to be disciplined in accordance with Article 4 of the Constitution. The said statement does not protect and promote the good name of the Party. It reaffirms the perception in the public domain that there is no unity in the Party and furthermore that there is an agenda to undermine the Party’s effort for victory in 2016, contrary to Article 2(3) of the Constitution (the aims and objectives of the Party are to win political power through democratic means in order to pursue the Party’s agenda…)

Furthermore, the General Secretary’s conduct deepens the perception of discord and factionalism within the Party. As stated above, the 10 September 2014 statement is pregnant with lies and untruths. The General Secretary lied to the Party and Ghanaians when he stated at Point 2 of the said statement “… any report of any standing committee should duly be submitted to the Steering Committee for consideration. This was not the case.” In fact, this was the case and the General Secretary together with all other members of the Steering Committee received copies of this legal opinion at the 25 August 2014 meeting.

The General Secretary’s statement also brings the name of the Party into disrepute and public ridicule. He specifically calls on all (the Party and Ghanaians) to treat the legal opinion of the Constitutional Committee of the National Council of the Party with “the contempt it deserves.” With the greatest respect, if deserved at all, such a statement should not come from the office of the General Secretary of the Party or from any Member of the Party. It seriously undermines the authority of the National Council and its Standing Committees. It ridicules the only body properly equipped to advise the Party on constitutional matters within the Party. We are all aware of instances in this country where the Government disregarded the legal opinion of its lawyer, the Attorney General, and ended up paying millions of dollars in judgment debt (Woyome, Waterville, Isofoton, etc). Is that the path that the General Secretary of the largest opposition Party wants to embark on?

The General Secretary must be punished to serve as a deterrent to other Members of the Party who intend to throw the fundamental law of the Party, the Constitution, to the dogs.

A Member of the Party may initiate the punishment process under Article 4 of Constitution by submitting a complaint outlining the various misconducts by the General Secretary, to the National Disciplinary Committee pursuant to Article 4(A)(3)(c). The National Disciplinary Committee will investigate the complaint and recommend the suspension or expulsion of the General Secretary if he is found guilty of misconduct.

Alternatively, and perhaps politically threatening, 40% of Members of the National Delegates Conference may give written notice to the National Council to demand the removal of the General Secretary pursuant to Article 10 of the Constitution. The notice will be circulated to all delegates affected within 1 week of receipt. A month after the circulation, an Extraordinary Delegates Conference shall be summoned to deliberate and decide on the matter. Once the National Council receives the notice, it may suspend the General Secretary from acting in his or her office pending the holding of the Extraordinary Delegates Conference.

This is not a legal opinion to the office of the General Secretary and therefore I do not expect to a statement calling for it to be treated with contempt. On the contrary, it is a call to all Members of the Party (and delegates of the National Delegates Conference) to invoke the above clauses in the Constitution. You may call it “Removing The General Secretary 101”. No one is above the Constitution and Kwabena Agyepong must be made to pay for his unforgiving arrogance towards to the Constitutional Committee.

Written by:

Naa Adorkor Tetteh

vanessatetteh@gmail.com