‘Stop the unnecessary tit-for-tat’ – Godfred Dame to Bagbin

Attorney-General Godfred Dame has expressed scepticism regarding Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin’s decision to suspend the approval of ministerial nominees until the Supreme Court concludes its deliberations on a case against the appointments of nominees by President Akufo-Addo.

According to Godfred Dame, the Speaker may have been misled or misinformed to take such a decision before the House.

In an interview with TV3, he said, “I think that it is either the Speaker was misinformed or misled by those who were mooting the action.”

Dame further criticized the political motivations behind the anti-gay bill.

“Every aspect of this bill is politically motivated. Otherwise, there is really no urgency. I remember mooting the contract management bill, a bill that had the potential to save the state millions of cedis in judgment debt, passed by parliament in July 2023. It was only presented to the president for his assent about three weeks ago. Every step in this matter is politically motivated,” he added.

Addressing the Speaker directly, Godfred Dame urged against engaging in tit-for-tat actions and emphasized the importance of approaching issues within the legal framework.

“This is a time we have to look at things legally, through the appropriate lenses, and with all respect, to stop the unnecessary tit-for-tat being done by some people,” he said.

Godfred Dame conveyed his stance to Bagbin, asserting that there were no hindrances in parliament’s process to approve the ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He refuted claims of receiving an interlocutory injunction in the case initiated by MP Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor, clarifying that no legal documents about such court proceedings had been served to him.

According to Speaker Alban Bagbin, the halt to the vetting process for ministerial nominations on Wednesday, March 20, stemmed from an interlocutory injunction filed at the Supreme Court by MP Dafeamekpor.

In his closing remarks to the House, Speaker Bagbin cited this lawsuit as the reason for suspending the vetting process, as it purportedly rendered Parliament unable to proceed with the nominations.

However, in a letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament on Thursday, March 21, Dame disputed Bagbin’s assertion, stating that no injunction had been filed and thus, parliament was not legally restrained from proceeding with the approval process for ministerial nominees.