Not even a military junta can bastardize state institutions like Akufo-Addo is doing - MP

Mr Adama Sulemana, a Member of Parliament (MP) for Tain Constituency in the Bono Region, belonging to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has strongly criticised President Nana Akufo-Addo, accusing him of posing a threat to state institutions.

Mr Sulemana accused the president of undermining and corrupting these institutions during his tenure.

He went as far as claiming that not even a military junta would undermine state institutions to the extent that President Akufo-Addo has.

Mr Sulemana expressed these views during an interview on The Citizen Show hosted by Kwabena Bobie Ansah on Accra 100.5 FM on July 10, 2023.

He highlighted what he considered unprecedented actions taken by the president, such as the appointment of an exceptionally high number of judges.

According to Mr Sulemana, President Akufo-Addo has appointed 126 high court judges and 41 appeal court judges in seven years.

He criticised the appointment of a high court judge to the Supreme Court over more senior colleagues from the Appeals Court, suggesting cronyism at play.

Mr Sulemana further accused the president of surrounding the courts with his cronies and engaging in state capture, a situation where state institutions are controlled or influenced for personal or political gain.

He claimed that all state institutions, including the Electoral Commission, Supreme Court, Appeals Court, High Court, and even the supposedly neutral Council of State, are suffering from state capture under President Akufo-Addo's administration.

As an example, he mentioned that when the NDC raised concerns about politically biased individuals serving as commissioners in the Electoral Commission, the Council of State claimed to have only considered their competence and ignored their party affiliations.

This, according to Sulemana, is evidence of state capture.