Managing Editor of the Al-haji newspaper, Alhaji Bature Iddrisu, has called on government to review the constitutional provision that authorizes the Speaker of Parliament to act in the capacity of the president.
According to him, such provision may spell doom for the country if not amended by the constitutional review committee.
The departure of President John Dramani Mahama from the country to Mali and his Vice, Kwesi Amissah Arthur, also to the United Kingdom saw the Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Doe Adjaho, assume a brief moment of presidential authority.
Following his swearing-in ceremony by Chief Justice, Georgina Theodora Wood, on Thursday, several arguments cropped up about the possible effects it may have on the administration of the country.
With some commentators having no qualms over it, Alhaji Bature believes the Speaker of Parliament, assuming the role of the president when he is absent from his duties, could take major decisions which may conflict with the decisions made by the legitimate president and, therefore, cause mayhem in the nation.
“If we are not very careful, one day, this provision will create problems for this nation. Because if you read the constitution, it tells us the order in which our leadership functions. It tells you that the president takes precedence over any other person in Ghana.”
To him, once the Speaker of Parliament is “clothed with that office of the President, you can function as a President by hiring, firing, taking decisions.”
He, therefore, appealed to the Committee to revise the constitution to limit the authority of the acting president when the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is not at his post.
“Now, we have a president and acting president in the person of the Speaker of Parliament. So…are we having two presidents?” he queried in an interview with Radio Gold.
Source: GhanaWeb
