Private legal practitioner, Samuel Atta Akyea has said the the governing National Democratic Congress has \u201cblatantly\u2019 violated the 1992 constitution by appointing a chief to serve on its economic committee.<\/p>\n
He indicated that the situation has place Togbe Afede XIV in a constitutional crisis and the party must take the needed steps to \u201ccure this mischief.\u201d<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”rhbG6Ptkh4jzLNOUvXHFeHmgNPPqrdxA”]The President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV has been appointed by the NDC<\/a><\/strong><\/span> to serve on the party\u2019s economic committee.<\/p>\n His appointment has raised eyebrows with many accusing the NDC of breaching Article 27.6 Clause 1 of the nation\u2019s constitution which states dictates that \u201ca chief shall not take part in active partisan politics and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin.\u201d<\/p>\n Also, the NDC is thought to have breached Article 27.6 Clause 2 of the constitution which also indicates that \u201cnotwithstanding clause 1 of this Article, and paragraph C of Clause 3 of Article 94 of this constitution, a chief may be appointed to a public office for which he is otherwise qualified.\u201d<\/p>\n The party has defended its decision<\/strong> <\/span><\/a>to include him despite being a non-member of the governing party.<\/p>\n The NDC\u2019s National Organizer said Togbe Afede XIV based on his business expertise which they believe is much needed to help the party\u2019s strategy to develop the country.<\/p>\n He also mentioned that the NDC is not a private institution so no law has been broken.<\/p>\n But according to Atta Akyea who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South constituency, \u201cthere is a distinction between a public office and a political office and I believe that when you marry the two, my good friend Togbe is in a constitutional crisis already \u2013 for him to accept anything which is so clear an NDC political packaging for electioneering campaign or whatever.\u201d<\/p>\n He also debunked the party\u2019s claim that it is not a private institution saying, \u201cNDC cannot be a public institution. It\u2019s not subvented by the state\u2026NDC is a political party and with all due respect, they appoint their own officers and the rest of it so for anybody to say that NDC is a public institution is an abuse of our understanding of what politics is about.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued saying, \u201call the cars driven by the judiciary and officers of the judiciary are paid for by the state; those of the Ministers are paid for by the state but all the vehicles of the NDC, are they paid for by the state? So how can you elevate or confuse a political party with a public institution?\u201d<\/p>\n He said it will be in the interest of the party to listen to the concerns which have been raised and advice themselves accordingly.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t need to be a hauled before a court of law for a declaration that a chief of such stature is in violation of the constitution\u2026the mischief must be cured.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By: Efua Idan Osam\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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