Bawku Central Member of Parliament (MP), Mahama Ayariga, has expressed shock at the outcry former President John Mahama‘s comment about the judiciary has generated.
According to Mr Ayariga, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leader was only encouraging party lawyers and not denigrating the judiciary.
“He was encouraging them to develop an interest in serving on the bench because there are a lot of NDC lawyers who do not explore the interest even when the opportunity is there.
“So Mahama was only admonishing them to express interest so they can be appointed when the need arises. So what is wrong if the NDC lawyer is asked to express interest?” he queried on Adom FM Dwaso Nsem.
Addressing the NDC Lawyers Conference over the weekend, Mr Mahama accused President Nana Akufo-Addo of appointing members of his party to the bench to influence decisions in their favour.
He therefore charged some of the NDC lawyers to prepare themselves to take up positions on the bench to balance its composition.
His comment has, however, been met with wide condemnation, with the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) describing it as ill-informed.
But the lawmaker said GBA’s reaction is not surprising since none of the topical issues in the country has caught their attention.
Mahama Ayariga cited how the GBA has been silent on the bank of Ghana issue to support his claim.
Mr Ayariga insisted that, nothing stops a judge from being a member of a political party, adding it is the output and the quality of their jobs that matter.
“There is nobody who will go to law school and say he is not aligned to any party. Definitely, you will be aligned but if you are openly biased and your arguments don’t support you work, then that becomes a problem,” he noted.
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