The Council of State only book licking the President, it need not exist anymore

A Legal Practitioner and Law Lecturer at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) Accra, Lawyer Justice Abdulai has said the Council of State, an advisory body to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lost its relevant hence there was no need for its continuous existence

Speaking on TV3 NewDay on Wednesday, April 14, he noted the prominent citizens tasked by the Constitution to advice the President on national issues has only been reduced to commending the President on every decision.

He opined there had not been any instance, not even a single one in which the council had been reported to had criticized any decision taken by the President and quizzed why that was so.

“All the reports that were received were almost unanimous that the Council of State has lost its relevant, it needs not exist, if it has to be in existence, it shouldn’t be in the state that it is today.

“….Let be serious, what advise do they give to the President. At any time in point when the Council of State had met the President it is to commend the President for the actions and decisions that the President had taken which most of the time are simply boot licking commendations. Really, there has never been a single day that we have heard in this country that the Council of State has criticize the President in any decision it has taken, why? So does the President not make mistakes? and the President doesn’t even take their advice,” Lawyer Abdulai lamented.

The Legal Practitioner was speaking about the appointment of the former Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo-Maafo as the Senior Advisor to the President in a discussion monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

Make the Council of State more biting

He noted if country was playing it constitutional mandate there wouldn’t be the need for the President to appoint numerous advisors into the government adding”It was suppose to be a very good institution but as of now I do not seriously think that their continues existence is relevant unless we take the added steps to make it relevant,” he said.

Lawyer Abdulai explained the country would need some restructuring to make the council more relevant to the needs of present day Ghana if the country still intends to maintain it.

“We can give it, if we intend for it to stay, more biting powers with respect to law making issues or if we have to divert their focus, we can divert the focus of the Council of State, make it more relevant, make it more useful and take them away from advising the President”.

Source: GhanaPlus.com