{"id":397558,"date":"2018-02-02T12:00:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-02T12:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=397558"},"modified":"2018-02-02T12:15:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-02T12:15:56","slug":"nana-addos-suspension-of-regional-minister-unconstitutional-ayariga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2018\/02\/nana-addos-suspension-of-regional-minister-unconstitutional-ayariga\/","title":{"rendered":"Nana Addo’s suspension of Regional Minister ‘unconstitutional’- Ayariga"},"content":{"rendered":"
National Democratic Congress [NDC] Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has described the President’s decision to suspend the Upper West Regional Minister as unlawful.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Eyewitness News\u00a0<\/strong>on Thursday, Mahama Ayariga argued that, the Constitution has laid out the procedures for sanctioning a Minister.<\/p>\n [contextly_sidebar id=”iABYBmRf6S0bTjUCNF9OsBf6YvmbgssN”]According to him, the President could have either reshuffled the Minister or dismissed him, while Parliament could also tender a motion for censure against him.<\/p>\n “The President didn’t appoint the Minister alone and the President didn’t create the office of the Minister…The kind of public service positions where you can exercise disciplinary control such as suspension from office are different from Ministerial appointments. In the case of Ministers, there are mechanisms for dealing with them such as a vote of censurship by Parliamentarians or the President reshuffling a Minister or dismissing a Minister outright. The President cannot suspend a Minister. He has to show us specifically under which provision of the Constitution he’s exercising the power to suspend the Minister,” he said.<\/p>\n Mahama Ayariga hinted that, he might head to court to ensure that finality is brought to the matter, if the President does not reverse his decision.<\/p>\n “We can raise it on the floor of Parliament and debate it, but that doesn’t also give finality to the matter. It’s the courts that will give finality. The only way to obtain some finality is to go to the courts and test then Constitution in relation to the conduct of the President. Perhaps by [Friday] morning the President would have thought through it, realized he has done the wrong thing and reverse his decision. If he doesn’t then of course, there might be a need to challenge his actions and either myself or somebody else who has the space may decide to do that.”<\/p>\n The Minister was suspended after he was 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