Bungalow saga: Mahama’s conduct unlawful - Abdallah Banda

The conduct of former President John Dramani Mahama to remain at his official residence days after the swearing-in of a new president and subsequently seeking possession of the house flouts Ghana’s Transition Act, Ben Abdallah Banda, former Deputy Ranking Member on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, has stated.

Ex-president Mahama has requested that he be made to continue occupying his current address as part of his ex-gratia.

But Mr Banda insists: “It is not for the outgoing president to say that, ‘I am still going to be in occupation and possession of the residence.’ It is not for him to decide that. By convention the outgoing president ought to be accommodated but it is not for him to say or that it’s his discretion to want to remain in that official house.”

“The Transition Act is quite clear, especially when you read Section 10, which says in no ambiguous terms that the president and the vice-president must vacate their residence a day before swearing-in of the president-elect.”

Mr Banda said the former president should have exited the residence before making the request to the new government.