Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Frank Davies, has criticised President John Mahama for delaying the constitution of the Council of State while prioritising the establishment of the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) Committee.

Mr Davies argued that the process of constituting the Council of State should have been undertaken earlier, as it is a constitutional imperative.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews' Newsfile on Saturday, January 25, he noted that there is ample time between a president-elect’s victory and their swearing-in to initiate the process.

“We should find time for things which are necessary and not devote time to things which are not necessary. Now, there is a huge, and ample space between when there's a president-elect and when he's sworn in. The process of constituting the Council of State, I don't think it's so enormous that it cannot be done,” he stated.

His comments after the Minority in Parliament has accused President Mahama of breaching Section 4(1) of the Presidential Office Act, which requires him to make appointments to his office in consultation with the Council of State.

The caucus said although the Council of State has yet to be constituted, the President has already made appointments to the Office of the President, without indicating that these appointments are provisional, pending the formation of the Council of State.

• Read also: Minority accuses Mahama of breaching Presidential Office Act in appointments to his office

Mr Davies further questioned the legal basis of the Office of the President-elect, arguing that such a designation does not exist within Ghana’s constitutional framework.

“There is no constitutional grounding for the Office of the President-elect. Yet, during this period, His Excellency, the President, constituted an ORAL Committee.

"If there was time to set up this committee, why couldn’t that period also be used to nominate members for the Council of State?” Mr Davies questioned.