The Minority in Parliament is calling for the vetting of five Ministers of State who have been reassigned by the President to different ministries.
The caucus argues that since the President announced the immediate removal of these ministers from their previous portfolios, it necessitates their scrutiny by Parliament before assuming new roles.
Ghanaian laws state that reassigned ministers are exempt from re-vetting. However, Deputy Ministers who are relocated or promoted must undergo parliamentary vetting.
Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, insists that if the President ignores their request, they will seek legal clarification from the highest court.
“I am saying on the authority of the constitution that those persons’ appointments were revoked by the president, and their re-assignment must be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny. So, we are demanding that those five ministers he has reassigned must be subjected to parliamentary vetting, and that is the procedure, so they cannot escape parliamentary scrutiny.”
“We will fulfill our constitutional obligations by insisting that their names are presented to Parliament for vetting. If our demand is not met, we will take the matter to the Supreme Court for legal interpretation.”
President Akufo-Addo announced a ministerial reshuffle on Wednesday, February 14, reassigning Mohammed Amin Adam to the Finance Ministry, Henry Quartey to the Interior Ministry, Francis Asenso-Boakye to Roads and Highways, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah to the Works and Housing Ministry, Ambrose Dery as Minister of State at the Office of the President, and Abdulai Abanga as a deputy minister at the Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development.
