The Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, has asserted that the tone of President Akufo-Addo’s letter instructing Parliament to “cease and desist” from transmitting the Anti-LGBTQ+ bill to his office was unacceptable.
According to him, the choice of words and the manner in which they were used implied that non-compliance with the directive could result in consequences.
Mr Tameklo’s comments follow a letter addressed to Parliament on Monday, March 18, and signed by the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante.
In the letter, the Office of the President officially ‘warned’ Parliament to refrain from transmitting the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, commonly referred to as the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, to President Akufo-Addo for his assent in light of two applications for an order of interlocutory injunction currently before the Supreme Court.
“In the circumstance, you are kindly requested to cease and deist from transmitting the bill to the President until the matters before the Supreme Court are resolved,” the statement read.
But speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on March 23, Mr Tameklo argued that this portion, among others, sounded like a threat.
“Is it not curious that where we have a President who is even a lawyer, one would expect a certain level of sobriety, a certain level of somber reflection, to take decisions that ultimately have an impact on our governance structure?
“Look at the tone of the letter – it is a threat. It is actually a threatening letter. The tone and language do not befit the office,” he asserted.
The NDC lawyer also questioned the authority by which the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, issues directives on behalf of the President.
Citing an example, he said Mr. Bediatuo Asante was the same person who signed the President’s directive instructing the then Attorney-General, Daniel Domelevo, to proceed on a compulsory leave.
This action, he argued, must be interpreted by the Supreme Court.
“On what authority is Mr Bediatuo Asante purporting to issue that letter? On what statutory or constitutional basis is he putting out that letter? It is becoming one too many, a process that I will describe as ‘misconduct’.
“The issue of Domelevo having to go… it is the same Bediatuo who purported to act on the instructions of the president and asked the man to proceed on leave. For the first time in many years, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to describe the conduct of the President, again conveyed by the same Bediatuo Asante, as unconstitutional,” he added.
On March 2, 2021, then Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo per the directive of the presidency in July 2020 took an accumulated leave.
The leave which was initially expected to last 123 working days was extended to 167 working days following Mr Domelevo’s letter to President Akufo-Addo, urging him to reconsider his directive.
Among other things, the Auditor-General claimed that the directive was a breach of the labour law and was unconstitutional.
Subsequently, on May 23, 2023, the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision described as unconstitutional the directive from the Presidency that asked former Auditor-General Daniel Domelevo to proceed on leave.
The court also described as unconstitutional the President’s appointment of an Acting Auditor General while there was a substantive Auditor-General.
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