Tony Aidoo Descends On NDC MPs

A senior Presidential Aide and Head of the Policy Evaluation and Oversight Unit under late President John Avans Atta Mills administration, has lashed out at National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MP), for approving the nominations of some Supreme Court judges.

Dr Tony Aidoo, said the NDC MPs, who are up in arms against the decision of these judges, should not complain about alleged political affiliation of certain judges, because they knew it, but still went ahead to approve them.

According to the NDC stalwart, the right thing the MPs should have done, was not to have approve the now justices when president Akufo-Addo nominated them at the time they came to the Appointment Committee for vetting.

“Empaneling of Justice Gaewu to me, does not have a stand in equity because if he has vested interest, he should have recused himself.

But the NDC caucus in Parliament, also bears complicity because you knew the political colours of these people and you approved them in Parliament including the Chief Justice herself.

You raised questions and then you go to the floor and approve them. So, you are also conduit in court against you”, he said on News File programme on Joy FM.

The outburst from the former Ambassador to the Netherlands, comes after the 5-member panel led by the Chief Justice (CJ), Gertrude Torkornoo, rejected the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin’s request, to have a member of the panel recuse himself from the case concerning the four vacant seats in Parliament.

Lawyer for the Speaker, Thaddeus, had filed an application to have Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, removed from the panel.

During proceedings on Wednesday, October 30, Mr Sory had argued that the justice, was once a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and served as a parliamentary candidate for the Ho Central constituency on the ticket of the party.

He said, Justice Gaewu’s membership of the NPP and sitting as a judge on a matter whose outcome may affect the interest of the party, may compromise his judgment.

But the apex court, expressed a contrary view, saying the law does not bar one from serving as a judge of the Supreme Court, simply because they belonged to a particular political party.

In the Chief Justice’s ruling, she said, once the person is vetted and approved by Parliament, it means he’s competent to hear such cases.

Justice Torkornoo, said there is precedent in the past where former president John Mahama, appointed a former national executive of the People’s National Convention (PNC) Gabriel Pwamang, to the supreme court, and he is doing his work without issues.

But reacting to the court decision on Joy FM’s news analysis programme on Saturday, November 2, the NDC big shot, faulted his party’s MPs for not being proactive enough in their dealings on the matter.

He said, the concerns of the NDC MPs, now are belated and amounts to crying over spilt milk. He also submitted that, the justice, should have exercise discretion and recused himself, instead of the speaker asking for it.

Dr Aidoo in his analysis, also disagreed with the court’s position on asking that the MPs of the vacant seats be allowed to stay in Parliament until the final determination of the case is made, so that their constituents are not denied representations.

According to him, the court exhibited inconsistencies in its ruling, because in the past, their position on similar cases deprived other constituents of representation for as much as four years.

“What happened to the constituents in Assin North, regarding Gyakye Quayson’s case? What about SALL, the constituents?

The thousands of constituents, who have been denied representation for four years? The Supreme Court, is much predictable in its application of the law and I dare say that does not help our democratic process.

Today you stand here, you contradict yourself, tomorrow you stand there you contradict yourself, did we set up a super constitutional body to terrorize us or to guide our constitutional behavior? It is flip flopping all the time. The Supreme Court, it is flip flopping all the time”, he stressed.

Earlier last month, when the issues of the vacant seats broke and the court was invited into the matter, MP for the Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, did not only disagreed with the court’s stay of execution brought against the speaker, he expressed his deep disappointment at the judges, some of whom he helped to be vetted.

As a member of the Appointment Committee, the former Youth and Sports Minister said, he gave approval to the judges, because he assumed they knew the constitution and were competent enough, but their work on the vacant seats case, has given him a totally different view of them.

Source: Anchorghana.com