In a surprising twist of events, Member of Parliament for Cape Coast South, Kwaku Ricketts-Hagan, has alleged that the recent approval of all ministerial nominees was an act of sabotage against the current minority leadership by supporters of the previous leaders. Ricketts-Hagan believes that some National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers are still upset about the removal of the previous leaders and are seeking revenge through their actions.
“This is sabotage,” Ricketts-Hagan declared on the Key Points program on TV3. He went on to suggest that opposition lawmakers had embarrassed themselves by approving the nominees. However, he clarified that the previous leaders themselves may not have had a role to play in sabotaging the current leaders.
The recent vote in parliament saw the approval of Justice George Kingsley Koomson and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu as Justices of the Supreme Court, as well as the approval of all ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Justice Kingsley Koomson had 139 “Yes” votes, while 133 voted “No,” and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu had 138 “Yes” votes and 134 “No” votes.
Prior to the vote, there were heated exchanges regarding the report of the Appointments Committee on the recent vetting of the nominees. The Minority members of the Committee denied knowledge of the report and asked for more time to study it, leading to the suspension of proceedings to allow for further review. After the debate, Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin postponed putting the question on the motion for the approval or otherwise of the nominees.
The implications of Ricketts-Hagan’s allegations remain to be seen, but they add a new layer of intrigue to an already contentious political situation.