Former Director of Legal Affairs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amaliba, says the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has become a political jamboree for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Speaking on Top Story on Joy FM on Monday, September 11, he explained that the GBA uses the conference which is supposed to be a nonpolitical platform as a medium to attack NDC-inclined lawyers and its leadership.

“I think that the Bar conference has become a political jamboree for NPP-inclined lawyers and state officials including the President to attack NDC-inclined lawyers and its leadership.

“The NDC lawyers pay dues to the Ghana Bar Association, the Bar uses the dues to organise a programme such as the Bar conference which is a nonpolitical platform and allows NPP-inclined lawyers together with the president to use that platform and attack leadership of the NDC including the lawyers."

President Akufo-Addo at a GBA conference in Cape Coast on Monday, used the platform to refute former President John Mahama's claim that he had filled the judiciary bench with NPP-inclined judges.

The President described the remark as "extremely dangerous," adding that “Not only are these concepts of ‘NPP’ and ‘NDC’ judges new in our public discourse, they are also extremely dangerous, and represent the most brazen attack on the independence of the judiciary by any allegedly responsible politician of the 4th Republic.”

The president also asked Ghanaians to vote against John Mahama in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

“They provide another reason, if more were needed, why right-thinking citizens should ensure the defeat in 2024 of the man whom the first Special Prosecutor identified as Government Official No.1, in the still unresolved Airbus Bribery Scandal,” he said.    

According to Mr Amaliba, the GBA has misconducted itself, and must take the fall for this action.

He questioned why the Bar gave a nonpolitical platform for the president to pass a political comment since Mr Mahama made his request for lawyers of the NDC to join the bench through a political medium.

Also read: https://myjoyonline.com/akufo-addo-has-packed-the-courts-with-npp-inclined-judges-we-must-balance-the-equation-mahama/

In light of this, Mr Amaliba demanded that the GBA apologises for allowing their platform to be used in such a manner.

“The Bar has failed and they must begin to do a U-turn to ensure that what the Bar stood for is what this current Bar will do,” he said.