By: Ashiadey Dotse
Legal practitioner and communication specialist, Zakariah Tanko Musah, says the Minority in Parliament should enter the vetting room and question Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie under protest, instead of standing outside to boycott the process despite their opposition.
Speaking in an interview on GTV’s Breakfast Show on Monday, November 10, 2025, Mr. Tanko Musah said boycotting the vetting will be “meaningless” because Parliament has a constitutional duty to do its work even when some matters are before the courts.
He explained that the separation of powers in a democracy does not mean one arm of government should stop functioning because another arm is handling a related matter.
According to him, the Supreme Court has already ruled that it cannot stop Parliament from carrying out its constitutional functions. He said Parliament represents the people and is mandated to approve certain decisions and appointments.
Mr. Tanko Musah therefore advised the Minority to use the vetting to raise their concerns directly to the nominee instead of walking out.
He also noted that in a democracy, the Minority has a role to play, but said they should be strategic in how they do it, especially after losing the last election, adding that public perception matters.
He stressed that Parliament must not be stopped from working simply because someone has gone to court, warning that such a practice would lead to “chaos and disaster.”
His comment came on the back of Minority leader, Hon. Osahen Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin’s argument that the vetting of Chief Justice nominee should be suspended due to the pending court cases regarding the dismissed Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Tokornoo.
The Minority leader argued that the vetting of the nominee will not hold despite Speaker Alban Bagbin’s ruling that the petition seeking to halt the vetting process is inadmissible.
