Council of State responds to NDC’s petition on ‘NPP’ EC Board members

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the main opposition party, petitioned the Council of State to express their displeasure with the selection of Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani as members of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The council stated that their advise to the President over his recent appointment of the two members who are allegedly party loyal to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) cannot be reviewed in a statement signed by its Chairman, Nana Otuo Siriboe II.

The procedure was judged complete, according to the council, after it carefully reviewed the applicants’ resumes and advised the President.

“The process of advising the president is that the president submits the names of intended persons accompanied by their particulars with a write-up or what is called Curriculum Vitae. The Council of States studies the said CVs to ascertain the suitability of the said individual.”

The statement further indicated, “When the council is satisfied that the individual’s names have the requisite qualifications, it approves the nomination. If the council is not satisfied with the qualifications, it declines to make a recommendation”.

In addition, Nana Otuo Siriboe II proved that the Council of State was no longer functus officio in the two people’s nomination process, as was correctly stated in paragraph eight of the letter’s third page. “Therefore, it is not possible to review the Council’s advice to the President.”

The Chairman emphasized that once recommendations have been made to the President, they cannot be reviewed. This choice makes it hard to go back and reconsider the Dr. Peter Appiahene and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani approval procedures.

Johnson Aseidu Nketiah, the chairman of the NDC, claimed in a letter dated April 17 that the two individuals sworn in by the president were longtime NPP supporters and could not be trusted to uphold the neutrality and impartiality of the nation’s electoral management body.

The University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR)’s NPP student wing has reportedly had Dr. Peter Appiahene as its patron since 2017. He belonged to the team that conducted national research and data analysis for the party.

The report further claims that Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani is an NPP activist and that her family has a long history with the group.

Therefore, the NDC party requested that the Council of State rescind its recommendation to the president. Additionally, it urged it to avoid being perceived as complicit in the choice of “these obviously partisan individuals” to serve on the Electoral Commission. Additionally, it urged it to maintain the council’s integrity with regard to its function within our political system.