Mr Speaker,
Honourable Members of Parliament,
Fellow Citizens,
We gather here today not only to reconvene a legislative session, but to recommit to the solemn duty imposed upon us by the Constitution—to serve the people of Ghana with honour, vigilance and integrity.
Yet, I must confess—this Parliament resumes amidst grave constitutional anxiety, rising public distress and a government that seems to be on autopilot. A government either asleep at the wheel or entirely indifferent to the suffering, insecurity and institutional corrosion engulfing our Republic.
Let us begin with a matter that strikes at the very soul of our democratic architecture: the independence of the Judiciary.
Mr Speaker,
The audacious attempts by the Presidency to undermine judicial independence have reached dangerous proportions. The nation watched in disbelief as the Executive launched brazen efforts to remove the Chief Justice of the Republic—an assault not merely on one officeholder, but on the very sanctity of the judicial branch. At the same time, the President is seeking to pack the Supreme Court with loyalists—seven nominations in one swoop—clearly designed to bind the hands of the Judicial Council and tilt the highest court in the land toward executive interests.
Equally troubling is the identity of the legal practitioners leading this crusade. While the right to counsel is sacrosanct and every citizen is entitled to legal representation of their choosing, it is profoundly disquieting that the lawyers spearheading the campaign against the Chief Justice are individuals publicly known to have represented, or are still representing, both the President and the Speaker of Parliament in active legal matters. These lawyers do not act in a vacuum—they act on the instructions of their clients. And when such lawyers become the face and voice of a petition to remove the Chief Justice, it becomes exceedingly difficult—if not impossible—for the public to disassociate the petition from the political authorities they serve.
Mr Speaker,
This is not about professional competence. It is about democratic perception. It is about the appearance—and indeed, the growing reality—of political capture of our constitutional processes. We must ask ourselves: when the lawyers of the Executive and the Legislature turn their sights on the Judiciary, whose independence is being preserved and whose agenda is being prosecuted? When these actors drive a petition with such grave implications, the very architecture of checks and balances comes under siege.
And let us be blunt: how then can any Ghanaian trust that the President acted without malice, without political motive, when he claims to have made a prima facie determination against the Chief Justice and suspended her, supposedly in consultation with the Council of State? How do we reconcile the constitutional seriousness of such a determination with the glaring political entanglements surrounding the petition? The entire process is cloaked in opacity, infected with conflict and dripping with contradictions. It insults both constitutional logic and the intelligence of the Ghanaian people.
This is not constitutional governance. It is a calculated weaponization of constitutional mechanisms. It is not justice being pursued—it is control being consolidated. If this House fails to interrogate this moment with the seriousness it deserves, then we too risk becoming complicit in the slow suffocation of judicial independence in Ghana. Let us rise—firmly and without fear—to affirm that our Judiciary must remain beyond the grasp of partisanship and beyond the reach of political retaliation.
Equally frightening is the growing abuse of the coercive powers of the State. National Security operatives—some acting with impunity—have taken to raiding the homes of former appointees, Members of Parliament and ordinary citizens with the faintest provocation. We are dangerously close to becoming a Republic where state power is weaponized not for protection, but persecution.
Mr Speaker,
I must now turn attention to a most troubling development in our nation’s foreign affairs. Just yesterday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, with the reported blessing of President Mahama, announced the closure of Ghana’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., citing alleged corrupt practices uncovered by a ministerial audit team. Let me be clear: corruption must be confronted. But such confrontation must be lawful, measured and aligned with Ghana’s long-term diplomatic interests—not reckless, knee-jerk, or politically performative.
It is an astonishing and deeply regrettable decision that the government’s response to internal administrative failures is to shut down one of our most important missions abroad, even if only for what they call “a few days.” This embassy, located in the capital of the United States—the world’s most influential nation—is not a district office of a private company. It is a sovereign outpost of the Republic of Ghana. It represents the face, the dignity and the credibility of our nation. To shutter it abruptly, because a single staff member was caught engaging in criminal behaviour—conduct that could and should be prosecuted without disrupting diplomatic operations—is not just excessive, it is diplomatically amateurish.
Mr Speaker,
The Ministry’s decision has already caused confusion and distress to Ghanaians abroad, many of whom rely on the embassy for consular services, visa and passport renewals and critical documentation. It sends a dangerous signal to the international community: that our government lacks the institutional maturity to isolate wrongdoing without imploding the entire system. It also fuels perceptions that Ghana is unstable in its diplomatic governance and unstrategic in managing scandals.
Moreover, how does a government that claims to value national reputation explain away such a dramatic act to its foreign partners? What assurances can be given to the U.S. State Department, investors, or multilateral agencies headquartered in Washington, D.C., that Ghana remains a reliable and stable diplomatic partner? No other serious nation reacts to an internal administrative fraud by collapsing its entire embassy structure, unless it is a failed state—or one deeply unsure of itself.
Let it be stated unequivocally: this House will not allow such recklessness to go unexamined. The Minister for Foreign Affairs will be summoned before Parliament without delay to provide a full account of the decision to close our embassy, the legal basis for doing so, the implications for Ghana’s diplomatic posture and the costs—both financial and reputational—this country will bear. We demand to know how and why such a sweeping measure was taken without prior consultation with the House and whether the Council of State, the Cabinet, or even the President’s foreign policy advisory team was involved in any form of deliberation.
Accountability in foreign service is not a slogan—it is a national imperative. The diplomatic credibility of Ghana cannot be subject to unilateral experiments. Parliament must and shall intervene.
Mr Speaker,
Ghana’s economy is gasping. Statutory funds such as the District Assemblies Common Fund have been starved, crippling essential services and suffocating our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies. Contractors across the country have abandoned critical infrastructure projects—roads remain half-built, bridges incomplete, schools and hospitals stalled—because the government has simply refused to honour its obligations. Businesses are hurting. Citizens are stranded.
Meanwhile, as the nation reels, the President recently departed the country without the basic courtesy—or constitutional obligation—of ensuring that executive authority was properly transferred to the Speaker of Parliament in his absence. A power vacuum was created at the very top, not by accident but by design. It is a gross dereliction of constitutional duty.
Security across the country has deteriorated. Armed robbery and murders have become the order of the day. Ghanaians sleep with one eye open, while their government appears blind to their fears.
Mr Speaker,
Recent media revelations have cast an unfortunate shadow on this House itself. Allegations of questionable payments made to Members of Parliament for legislative work must not be swept under the rug. If this House is to maintain its integrity, then transparency must be our shield and accountability our sword.
On the energy front, let the records reflect: Dumsor is back. And it has returned with a viciousness that reminds Ghanaians of our darkest power crises. Under President Mahama’s second coming, the lights are off, the people are suffering and the economy is bleeding.
The pain doesn’t stop there. The Ghana cedi has seen recent signs of appreciation—but prices remain stubbornly high. Particularly in shipping and transportation, many major operators are still quoting dollar rates that defy the Bank of Ghana’s official benchmarks. Who protects the Ghanaian consumer from this brazen exploitation? Certainly not this government.
Mr Speaker,
Our cities are choking—literally. Waste from homes and industries lies unattended as the government fumbles over sanitation contracts. The garbage does not care for bureaucracy; it piles up, breeding disease, disgust and despair.
Floods have already killed at least five people, displaced over 3,000 and destroyed properties worth millions. The rains have not yet peaked. Where is the National Emergency Response Plan? Where is leadership?
But while we speak of water rising in cities, let us not forget the tragedy unfolding along our coastline. In the Ketu South, Keta and Anlo constituencies, the sea continues to violently reclaim entire communities. In Amutsinu in the Ketu South Constituency, for example, the town is being alarmingly washed away by tidal waves. Families have been rendered homeless. Livelihoods have been shattered. And many citizens have lost everything they once worked for. This is a humanitarian emergency and it is inexcusable that government action has not matched the scale of the devastation. We demand immediate and sustained action beyond the mere Presidential photo-op to complete and extend the sea defense walls. Anything less is a cruel betrayal of our coastal citizens.
In our schools, law and order are collapsing. Reports of students attacking teachers and each other, some with offensive weapons, are alarming. NAGRAT, in a desperate cry for protection, has served notice that its members may begin carrying weapons to school. Mr Speaker, if teachers must be armed to feel safe, then the government has failed. Full stop.
President Mahama’s much-touted Mahama Cares Initiative must also be brought to account. How much has been raised? How has it been spent? In a democracy, benevolence does not exempt one from scrutiny.
More troubling still is the President’s response to violations of the asset declaration regime by his appointees. Rather than refer them to CHRAJ as the law requires, he chose to pressure them into donating four months of their salaries to the Mahama Cares fund. This is not charity—it is a blatant breach of the Constitution. No President has the power to substitute lawful sanctions with presidential pet projects.
Mr Speaker,
We must also address the scandal of the Presidential jet. Despite a fully functional jet inherited from the previous administration, the President continues to travel aboard his brother’s private aircraft. The Vice President was recently flown home on a private charter, once again snubbing the state’s own jet. If these flights are gifts, they violate the President’s own Code of Ethics. If they are paid for by the State, let the receipts be published. If they are paid for by Mr Ibrahim Mahama, then the country deserves to know: What is he getting in return?
Mr Speaker,
The Electoral Commission must immediately declare the results of the Ablekuma North parliamentary contest. Five months since the 2024 elections, the people remain without representation, even though credible evidence suggests that the NPP candidate won. The EC must be supported with security, but they must not be allowed to delay democracy.
As for promises made, we are watching. The President assured Ghanaians that the COVID-19 Levy and other punitive taxes would be repealed. We await action. We also demand a bold, decisive declaration of a state of emergency to tackle illegal mining, which has surged under this administration.
Mr Speaker,
Fellow Ghanaians, Parliament is not a ceremonial gathering of elites—it is the living expression of the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people. When judicial independence is threatened, when state power is used to terrorize citizens and when the Executive flouts the Constitution with impunity, this House has a duty—not a choice—to rise in defence of the Republic. To remain silent or neutral is to betray our oath of office and to signal complicity in constitutional subversion. Parliament must therefore assert itself with clarity and courage—now, not later.
This House must no longer serve merely as a conveyor belt for Executive business. We must become the firewall between democratic survival and authoritarian drift. Ghana’s Parliament was designed to check—not cheer—the Executive. That design is being dismantled before our very eyes. When the President circumvents CHRAJ, undermines asset declaration laws and creates a parallel justice system through political donations, Parliament must not look away. We must speak with one voice and demand that the rule of law—not rule by discretion—governs this Republic.
We in the Minority may stand in numbers that pale in the shadows of the enormous. But let it be known and let it echo from this Chamber to every corner of the nation: we will not cower before the force of the Majority. We will not be bullied into submission. We will continue to lead the charge—resolute, principled and unwavering—in every committee, on every floor and before every tribunal of public opinion. We serve as the Republic’s constitutional firewall and we will not permit the perversion of our democracy under this government to go unchallenged.
Parliament must also reclaim its power of oversight. We must establish and enforce rigorous accountability mechanisms to track statutory funds, presidential travel, donations under the Mahama Cares Initiative and all actions taken under the guise of public interest. Where there is opacity, we must shine a light. Where there is impunity, we must demand redress. It is not enough to ask questions—we must insist on answers. Our committees must be empowered, our debates must be sharper and our resolutions must have teeth.
Let this meeting of Parliament be a turning point—not a talking point. Let us summon the courage to challenge every constitutional infraction, every abuse of public funds and every assault on citizen dignity. This Parliament must not be remembered as one that looked away while the Republic was tested. We must be remembered as the Parliament that defended Ghana’s democracy, not as bystanders to its erosion. Accountability is not a favour—it’s our foremost responsibility.
Finally, let us remember that the legitimacy of this House is tied to the confidence of the people. If we fail to act when the judiciary is under siege, when lives are lost to floods, when teachers are forced to arm themselves, or when public services collapse under unpaid debts, then we risk becoming irrelevant to the very people we serve. Let this session of Parliament rise to meet the moment. The time for caution has passed. The hour of constitutional vigilance is now.
For emphasis, Mr Speaker, this Parliament must not be a footnote in the story of Ghana’s democratic decline. We must rise, speak, act—and where necessary, resist. The President and his government must assume responsibility. The days of deflection are over. The season for accountability is here.
Let us not fail the people.
Mr Speaker, before resuming my seat, let me take this moment to warmly welcome all colleagues back from the recess. I trust we return refreshed, reenergized and resolute in our shared responsibility to uphold the public trust. I also extend our sincere appreciation to the media for their continued dedication to covering the work of this House. Their tireless efforts help ensure transparency, accountability and a well-informed citizenry—pillars upon which any thriving democracy must stand.
I thank you for the opportunity.
