Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has defended the constitutional process that led to the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
He argued that similar procedures were followed during the removal of former Electoral Commission Chairperson Charlotte Osei.
Speaking on TV3’s ‘The Key Points’ programme on Saturday, the NPA boss dismissed allegations that the current administration had acted unfairly, insisting that precedents established under previous governments demonstrate that the process was constitutionally sound.
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According to him, under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration, then Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo, single-handedly determined that there was a prima facie case against Charlotte Osei before the impeachment process proceeded.
“She alone, Sophia Akuffo, made a prima facie determination against Charlotte Osei, and it was lawful,” Tamakloe stated during the live discussion.
He explained that following the prima facie determination, then-President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo constituted the committee chaired by Justice Anthony Alfred Benin, alongside Justice Agnes Dordzie and other members, which eventually recommended Charlotte Osei’s removal from office.
Tamakloe questioned what he described as inconsistencies in criticisms directed at the current process involving former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
He noted that while some critics have questioned the involvement of the Council of State in determining a prima facie case against Justice Torkornoo, they did not object when Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo alone made a similar determination in Charlotte Osei’s case.
“Today, her colleagues on the Council of State decide, and she distances herself from the collective decision,” Tamakloe remarked, referring to public comments made by Sophia Akuffo regarding the recent impeachment proceedings.
The lawyer and NDC stalwart said he deliberately refrained from extensively criticising the former Chief Justice out of respect for her office but maintained that the facts surrounding Charlotte Osei’s removal should be remembered whenever comparisons are made.
Edudzi Tamakloe argued that Article 146 of the 1992 Constitution provides a clear framework for removing holders of high judicial office and insisted that the constitutional safeguards were followed throughout Justice Torkornoo’s impeachment process.
He also rejected suggestions that President John Dramani Mahama influenced the proceedings, maintaining that the President merely acted within the constitutional framework after the relevant bodies completed their work.