Parliament will consider the report of the Appointments Committee on the nomination of Martin Amidu as Special Prosecutor on Tuesday, February 20, 2018.
Delivering the business statement for next week on the floor of Parliament, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, indicated that the House will take a decision on Mr. Amidu’s nomination next week.
“The Appointments Committee may submit their report, the report on the president’s nomination of Mr. Martin Alamisi Benz Kaiser Amidu as Special Prosecutor. Mr. Speaker, the report may be adopted by the House on the same day or perhaps the ensuing day,” he added.
[contextly_sidebar id=”DUMaoUvCirznIgCDm3mdzNih3UGM8B8M”]Martin Amidu was vetted by the Appointments Committee last Tuesday, February 15, 2018; an assessment exercise that lasted for over 7 hours.
Mr. Amidu’s public vetting has received widespread commendation as many stakeholders believe he performed creditably.
The Appointments Committee also unanimously recommended his confirmation moments after the grueling exercise.
The Special Prosecutor nominee responded to over 180 questions from all members of the Committee in the session with most of the queries coming from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority, and its leader, Haruna Iddrisu.
Most of the questions focused on past statements and articles Martin Amidu had written.
Suit against Amidu’s age
There is however a pending suit at the Supreme Court by an NDC MP, and former Deputy Attorney General Dominic Ayine, challenging Amidu’s nomination.
He argues that Mr. Amidu, 66, has passed the age that requires him to serve in that office.
Ayine is thus seeking a declaration from the Supreme Court that Mr. Amidu, “is not qualified or eligible to be nominated as the Special Prosecutor under Section 13(3) of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act, 2018 (Act 959).”
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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin