Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has responded to allegations made by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, that he (Bagbin) violated procurement laws by hiring Thaddeus Sory as a lawyer for the Parliamentary Service without the required approvals.
Mr. Dame referenced a letter from the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), which rejected a request to single-source Sory@Law, Thaddeus Sory’s firm, as Parliament’s solicitor on retainer.
“The Attorney-General, even when he’s seeking the service of a lawyer to represent the government in cases outside the country, in foreign courts, goes through PPA approval all the time. Even the Chief Justice, the former Chief Justice, who was using the services of Thaddeus Sory, had to go to PPA approval,” Mr. Dame said.
He further claimed that the Speaker’s actions breach the PPA Act, stating, “A breach of the PPA Act constitutes a crime, and my contention is that you cannot use a crime to defend a clear, unconstitutional action of yours. So, indeed, you are engaged in an unconstitutional action, and you are using the commission of a crime to further that unconstitutionality; that is wrong.”
However, in his first response to the issue at a press conference on Wednesday, November 6, 2024, the Speaker took a swipe at Godfred Yeboah Dame.
He promised to meet with the AG and express his peace of mind, emphasising the importance of carefully reading the letter given that parliament and the office of speaker are separate.
He said the Speaker is a party to a matter pending before the Supreme Court and not parliament, and ‘’so as Speaker, when the Attorney General is taking a different position from my position, I should still contract him as my counsel? I will leave it that way because I will meet the Attorney General and I will tell him my peace of mind on some legal issues and pronouncements he made at the Supreme Court. Attorney Generals must be respected as learnt, but it should not be part of what Obama referred to. Not me, it will not work’’.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
