Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, has expressed concerns regarding the Speaker of Parliament’s use of private lawyers in legal matters.
His remarks came on Wednesday, October 30, during an application by Speaker Alban Bagbin aimed at overturning a ruling that prevented him from declaring four parliamentary seats vacant.
AG Dame referred to a letter from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) dated December 12, 2022, which denied Bagbin permission to hire his personal lawyer, Sory@Law, for cases involving the Speaker’s Office.
The PPA Board emphasized that the Attorney General serves as the Principal Legal Advisor and stated that the Parliamentary Service should rely on the AG for all legal issues.
In his argument before the Supreme Court panel, AG Dame asserted that the Speaker’s Office should not have been involved in the case at all. He stated, “The first defendant [the Speaker] is not a proper party to the proceedings, and his absence would not hinder the court’s ability to hear the matter. It is also inappropriate for the first defendant to be included in this action; the Attorney General should be the sole defendant.”
