John Boadu has defended the decision by the Minority in Parliament to walk out during the vetting of the Chief Justice nominee, describing the process as “illegitimate” and “premature.”
“We walk out because we didn’t want to legitimise illegality,” the former NPP General Secretary told PM Express on JoyNews monitored by MyNewsGh, arguing that Parliament should have suspended the vetting until a pending court case involving the nominee was resolved.
“They shouldn’t have vetted him. They should have just let him go. If it turns out that the views of a nominee are injurious to the delivery of justice, must he go through?” he questioned.
According to Boadu, the opposition’s protest was both principled and procedural. “The opposition made their point. The opposition felt that even the vetting wasn’t necessary because there is a case that can have an effect on what they are vetting the person for,” he said.
He added that the Minority believed the more prudent option would have been to allow an acting Chief Justice to continue until the matter before the court was settled.
“So in our thinking, this should have allowed an acting CJ to continue till that matter before the court is cleared. That’s our position,” Boadu stated.
Reflecting on the broader implications, Boadu lamented the NPP’s dwindling parliamentary strength after the 2024 elections, which he said limited the party’s ability to challenge questionable decisions.
“We had an abysmal performance in 2024. We had just less than 32% of parliamentary representation,” he said, noting that with greater numbers, the opposition could have effectively blocked controversial policies.
“They imposed a levy on petroleum products. They did it within 24 hours. There wasn’t a major critique or review because we were not enough to kick against it,” he concluded.
