General News of Wednesday, 26 July 2017
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2017-07-26
President Akufo-Addo
President Nana Akufo-Addo will today “deal” with the petition seeking the removal from office, of the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei, Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor has disclosed.
“The President will deal with it [petition] today this morning… and deal with it in accordance with the Constitution,” Mr. Jinapor told Joy FM Super Morning Show host, Kojo Yankson.
Per the provision of the Constitution, the president is nothing to do beyond fowarding the petition to the Chief Justice who will commission an investigation to establish whether the allegations warrants further investigations.
The deputy Chief of Staff stressed that the President as an avowed constitutionalist will do what is right.
Nana Akufo-Addo arrived in the country last night and was handed the petition from some anonymous staff of the election management body seeking to impeach the Chair of the Commission for lacking administrative competence among a number of issues against her.
The petitioners, represented by counsel, Maxwell Opooku Agyemang, signed the petition before it was sent to the Presidency while Nana Akufo-Addo was on out of the country.
Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor on Wednesday, stated on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM that, the president’s first assignment today will be to deal with the petition as the constitution stipulates.
Familiar path?
In 2015, President John Mahama removed then Head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mrs. Lauretta Vivian Lamptey, following recommendations of a Committee set up by the Chief Justice to investigate allegations of corruption and mismanagement leveled against her.
This was after a petition seeking her removal from office, was forwarded to the Chief Justice after it was sent to the Presidency a sole petitioner, Richard Nyamah.
The Chief Justice had established a prima facie case in the petition filed by Richard Nyamah, accusing the Ms. Lamptey of abusing her office. Just as his predecessor acted on the dictates of the Constitution, it is expected that President Akufo-Addo will do same.
“The paths on these matters are not novel; they are not new; we have walked this part before…and the president will act very much on the dictates of the Constitution,” the Deputy Chief of Staff said.
He expressed the confidence that “whoever sits in judgement or has a role to play, will do so dispassionately in with good conscience in accordance with law and good judgement”.
Mr. Jinapor said he is, however, saddened that political opponents of the President, are attempting to suggest that the move to impeach the EC Chair. “This has absolutely nothing to do with President Akufo-Addo; absolutely nothing,” he asserted.
