President Nana Akufo Addo’s ministerial nominees approval has been hit by an interlocutory injunction filed at the Supreme Court by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin announced this on the floor of the House on Wednesday. He said the house is unable to continue the processes that would lead to the approval of ministers-designate vetted by the Appointments Committee. Speaker Bagbin explained that the decision was the result of an interlocutory injunction filed by the Member of Parliament for South Dayi.
“Hon Members, I also bring to your attention, the receipt of a process from the courts titled Rockson-Nelson Etse K. Dafeamekpor vrs the Speaker of Parliament and the Attorney-General (Suit no. J1/12/2024) which process was served on the 19th of March 2024 and an injunction motion on notice seeking to restrain the Speaker from proceeding with the vetting and approval of the names of the persons submitted by His Excellency the President until the provisions of the constitution are satisfied.
“Hon. Members in the light of this process, the House is unable to continue to consider the nominations of His Excellency the President in the ‘spirit of upholding the rule of law’ until after the determination of the application for interlocutory injunction by the Supreme Court” Alban Bagbin told the Parliament.
Prior to Alban Bagbin’s announcement that the approval processes for the ministers-designate would halt, he commented on the President’s letter to Parliament on the anti-LGBTQI bill. The letter signed by the President’s secretary directed the Clerk to Parliament not to transmit the bill to the President, citing two pending cases against the bill at the Supreme Court.
“Honorable Members, on 19 March, 2024, my attention was drawn to a letter issued by the Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, addressed to the Clerk to Parliament, which letter is clearly, in my opinion, contemptuous of Parliament. The letter outlined that the Clerk ought to ‘cease and desist’ from attempting to transmit the Human Sexual Values Bill, 2021 [Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill], to the President for necessary action in accordance with the Constitution.
“In the said letter, the Executive Secretary indicated that the Office of the President was aware of two pending applications for an order of interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the Clerk and Parliament from transmitting the bill to the President,” the Hon. Speaker added.