Managing
Editor of the Al-haji newspaper, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu has called on
government to review the constitutional provision that authorizes the
Speaker of Parliament to act in the capacity of the President.
According to him, such provision may spell doom for the country if not amended by the constitutional review committee.
The
departure of President John Dramani Mahama from the country to Mali and
his Vice, Kwesi Amissah Arthur, also to the United Kingdom saw the
Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Doe Adjaho assume a brief moment of
Presidential authority.
Following his swearing-in ceremony by
Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, on Thursday, several arguments
cropped up about the possible effects it may have on the administration
of the country.
With some commentators having no qualms over it,
Alhaji Bature believes the Speaker of Parliament, assuming the role of
the President when he is absent from his duties, could take major
decisions which may conflict with the decisions made by the legitimate
President and therefore cause mayhem in the nation.
“If we are
not very careful, one day, this provision will create problems for this
nation. Because if you read the constitution, it tells us the order in
which our leadership functions. It tells you that the President takes
precedence over any other person in Ghana.”
To him, once the
Speaker of Parliament is “clothed with that office of the President, you
can function as a President by hiring, firing, taking decisions.”
He
therefore appealed to the Committee to revise the constitution to limit
the authority of the acting President when the Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces is not at his post.
“Now, we have a President
and acting President in the person of the Speaker of Parliament.
So...are we having two Presidents?” he queried in an interview with
Radio Gold. |
| |
|
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment