Minority Leader in Parliament and MP for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has criticised President John Dramani Mahama over his recent nomination of additional Supreme Court justices.
Acting under Article 144(2) of the 1992 Constitution, President Mahama on Wednesday, April 30, nominated seven Court of Appeal judges for appointment to the apex court.
A letter addressed to Acting Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie listed the nominees as Justice Sir Dennis Dominic Adjei, Justice Gbiel Simon Suurbaareh, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, Justice Kweku Tawiah Ackaah-Boafo, Justice Philip Bright Mensah, Justice Janapare Bartels-Kodwo, and Justice Hafisata Amaleboba.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, May 1, Mr. Afenyo-Markin echoed the New Patriotic Party’s claim that the President is plotting to alter the interpretation of the 1992 Constitution to allow him to run for a third term.
According to him, the President and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have long nurtured plans to push Mr. Mahama for another term in 2028, despite the constitutional limit of two terms.
“It is obvious that this sudden move to nominate seven judges to the Supreme Court is the first major attempt at executing their long-rehearsed third-term agenda,” he said.
He added, “Everything the President is doing, under the advice of the NDC’s Hawks, is to set the stage for a third-term bid.”
