Former NPP General Secretary John Boadu has defended the opposition’s decision in Parliament to boycott the vetting of Ghana’s Chief Justice nominee, describing the process as “illegitimate” and a miscarriage of justice.
Speaking on PM Express on JoyNews, Boadu said the opposition’s concerns were rooted in constitutional propriety, not partisanship.
“There’s a miscarriage of justice… the opposition made their point. Opposition feels that even the vetting wasn’t necessary because there is a case that can affect what they are vetting the person for,” he explained.
According to him, Parliament should have waited for an ongoing case involving the nominee to be resolved before proceeding.
“So in our thinking, we think that this will have allowed because the Constitution provides we will have an acting CJ, so that you can still perform his function as acting CJ till that matter before the court is cleared. That’s our position,” Boadu said.
He further justified the opposition’s walkout, emphasizing that it was a matter of principle. “We walked out because we didn’t want to legitimise illegality. So that is clear. They shouldn’t have vetted him. If it turns out that the views of a nominee are injurious to the delivery of justice, must he go through?” he asked.
Reflecting on broader parliamentary challenges, Boadu lamented the NPP’s poor performance in the 2024 elections, saying the party’s limited representation weakened oversight.
“We had an abysmal performance… we had just less than 32% of parliamentary representation,” he said, noting that the imbalance allowed controversial policies to pass unchecked.
“For instance, they imposed a levy on petroleum products within 24 hours. There wasn’t a major critique and review because we were not enough to be able to kick against it,” he added.
