The petitioner seeking the removal of the Electoral Commission Chairperson, Charlotte Osei, has had his application challenging the legitimacy of the lawyer representing the EC boss thrown out.
The petitioner, Maxwell Opoku-Agyemang, had earlier argued that, Mrs. Osei’s lawyer, Thaddeus Sory, should not be allowed to represent her over a possible conflict of interest situation.
He contended that, because of Mr. Sory’s duty to the Commission, he could not stand as lawyer for Mrs. Osei as an individual, and should be restrained from representing her.
Mr. Sory argued that, despite him being Lawyer to the EC, the Commission was not a party to the substantive case in court, as Mr. Opoku-Agyeman was the being sued.
Prior to this, Mrs. Osei had sued Mr. Opoku Agyeman for defamation because he published the contents of the petition for the EC boss’ removal before it got to the president.
Mr. Opoku-Agyeman, in turn, filed an application to strike out the lawsuit against him on grounds of possible conflict of interest, in addition to the claim that Mr. Sory had confidential information on the case that could be used against him.
The petition was forwarded to the Presidency from unnamed EC staff who are being led by Lawyer Opoku-Agyemang, against Mrs. Osei, which is pending before the Chief Justice.
In the petition, a litany of allegations have been leveled against Mrs. Osei, including spending GH¢3.9 million to partition an office, receipt of a Toyota Land Cruiser from the erstwhile John Mahama NDC government, spending about $14 million when the Public Procurement Authority had authorized her to use only $7.5 million, as well as attending Cabinet meetings during the tenure of the President John Mahama, among other issues.
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By:Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana