The National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, popularly known as Nana B, has announced plans to return to the Supreme Court over what he describes as President John Dramani Mahama’s “flagrant disregard” for Ghana’s Constitution in the handling of agreements with the United States on deportees.
According to Nana B, President Mahama has repeated the same constitutional violations that led to the famous “Gitmo 2” case in 2016, in which the Supreme Court declared illegal his administration’s agreement with the US to resettle two former Guantanamo Bay detainees in Ghana without parliamentary approval.
Nana B, who was a plaintiff in that case alongside Madam Margaret Banful, said the latest development shows a worrying pattern.
“I will, therefore, be heading back to the Supreme Court to seek an enforcement of Article 75 of the Constitution in order to abate the ongoing assault on the Constitution by the Executive,” he declared.
He revealed that his lawyers, Nana Adjei Baffour Awuah and Lenin Anane Agyei, have already been instructed to commence legal processes.
Nana B’s comments follow alleged remarks by Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa during an interview on Citi TV where the minister defended President Mahama’s move to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US for the transfer of deportees from West Africa without parliamentary ratification.
The NPP National Organizer, however, dismissed the minister’s explanation, stressing that the Supreme Court had already settled the matter in its June 22, 2017 ruling.
“The Court was clear that it does not matter whether an agreement is called a treaty, convention, or MOU — once it binds Ghana internationally, it requires parliamentary approval under Article 75,” Nana B stated.
Quoting the Court’s decision, he emphasized that President Mahama’s administration is in direct breach of the ruling by operationalizing the agreement and receiving deportees into the country without parliamentary scrutiny.
He further criticized Hon. Ablakwa’s attempt to rely on cabinet discussions and the Attorney General’s advice, insisting that no executive opinion can override a binding Supreme Court precedent.
“By disregarding the Supreme Court’s decision in the Gitmo 2 case, which happened during President Mahama’s first term, the President, Hon. Ablakwa, the Attorney General and the entire Cabinet, have demonstrated reckless disregard for the 1992 constitution of Ghana, the Parliament of Ghana, and the Supreme Court,” Nana B stressed, describing the President’s actions as “dangerous for Ghana’s democracy.”
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
