EC sued over Commissioner’s age

One of the seven commissioners at the Electoral Commission (EC) has been dragged to court for allegedly falsifying her age to remain in office.

Boakye Asomaning Tawiah of Parakuo Estates in Accra wants an Accra High Court to declare that Hajia Sa-Adatu Maida has attained the retirement age of 60 and cannot continue to serve as Commissioner of the electoral body.

The plaintiff sued the commission member alongside the EC asking the court to declare further that “by virtue of the member’s date of birth of 5th June 1958 as appears on SSNIT records, she has attained the age of 60 and above.”

The plaintiff also wants a declaration that by virtue of the member of the commission’s age, “she was due for compulsory retirement since 5th June 2018” and wants the court to order her to proceed on “compulsory retirement 14 days following the final determination of the suit.”

“An order that all monies paid to the defendant by the EC from 5th June, 2018, to the date of final determination of the suit by the court should be refunded to the state including interest,” the plaintiff seeks in his reliefs filed by his lawyers Darko Law Firm, East Legon, Accra.

In his statement of claim, the plaintiff averred that the EC should have notified the member of the commission of her compulsory retirement before 5th June, 2018 and should have also taken the appropriate steps in conjunction with the member to ensure that she retired honourably.

“The EC failed in this duty allowing the commission member to remain at post though available evidence points to the fact that the member has since passed the compulsory retiring age as a public servant,” the plaintiff claimed.

According to the plaintiff, upon realizing that the commission member had no intention to comply with the compulsory retiring age as a public servant, he caused his lawyers to write to the defendants on 23rd July, 2018, to take the necessary steps to retire within 14 days but it fell on deaf ears.

The plaintiff said some of the letters went to the Human Resource Department of the EC as well as the presidency at Jubilee House and said he intends to rely on those documents during the trial.

He also said a copy of an alleged SSNIT statement on the commission member on 24th July, 2018, displaying among other things, her date of birth of 5th June 1958, was attached to the letters sent.

According to the plaintiff, the commission member wrote to SSNIT to claim her date of birth was 5th June 1961 instead of the already recorded 5th June 1958 but SSNIT rejected it based on accurate information consistently provided by the member to the trust.

The plaintiff also averred that there is ‘overwhelming’ evidence to show that the commission member had attained the age of 60 and cannot continue to serve on the commission as public servant.