{"id":397439,"date":"2018-02-02T06:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T06:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=397439"},"modified":"2018-02-02T13:24:04","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T13:24:04","slug":"suspending-regional-minister-commendable-but-deputy-cant-act-haruna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/suspending-regional-minister-commendable-but-deputy-cant-act-haruna\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspending regional minister commendable, but deputy can’t act – Haruna"},"content":{"rendered":"
The leader of the Minority in Parliament has described the directive by President Nana Akufo-Addo for the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Amidu Ishaq to act\u00a0in the stead of the suspended Regional Minister, Sulemana Alhassan as unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
While commending the decision taken by the President to suspend the Regional Minister, Haruna Iddrisu stated that, it was imperative that the President does not breach the Constitution in his effort to address the situation.<\/p>\n
According to him, the constitution does not allow for a Deputy Regional Minister to act in the absence of the substantive Minister.<\/p>\n
“We welcome the swiftness of the President’s action against the Regional Minister for attempting to [frustrate efforts] at getting an end to the lawlessness in the country by the masquerading NPP youth in that region and other parts of the country. But the President himself is a respected legal practitioner and must do what is appropriate legally and constitutionally within the meaning of the Supreme Court ruling on the status of deputy Ministers. It is wrong in law and constitutionally for the deputy Minister to be asked to acting in the absence of the regional\u00a0Minister,” Haruna Iddrisu said on Eyewitness News.<\/strong><\/p>\n He believes that the President could direct another Regional Minister to assume the role of acting Upper West Regional Minister until he makes a final determination on the fate of\u00a0Sulemana Alhassan.<\/p>\n “What the President should be doing is to get any other Regional Minister to step in while the investigation continues until he decides whether he is revoking the suspension or enhancing it with\u00a0a revocation of his appointment. There is a Supreme Court judgement on the status of deputy Ministers and they cannot act in the absence of Ministers. The President must get a Minister, probably a Regional Minister within the decentralization regime to act in that role. I expect the President to act within the law and within the Constitution and within the ruling of the Supreme Court. What he has done is legally untenable and inappropriate.”<\/p>\n The Minister was suspended after he is reported to have protected a group of angry youth believed to be members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who besieged the Upper West Regional office of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n The statement announcing his suspension noted that, his deputy will act pending the conclusion of an\u00a0investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n