Frank Davies, Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has taken issue with President John Mahama over delays in constituting the Council of State, a key constitutional body.

He criticized the President for prioritizing the establishment of the Operation Recover All Loots (ORAL) Committee while leaving the Council of State unformed.

In an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, January 25, Davies emphasized that constituting the Council of State is a constitutional duty that should have been handled promptly. He argued that the time between a president-elect’s victory and their swearing-in provides sufficient opportunity to initiate this 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.

Davies’ remarks follow allegations by the Minority in Parliament that President Mahama breached Section 4(1) of the Presidential Office Act. The Minority claims the President has made appointments to his office without consulting the Council of State, as required by law, and has failed to indicate whether these appointments are provisional pending the Council’s formation.

Additionally, Davies questioned the President’s legal justification for what he described as the creation of the “Office of the President-elect,” a designation he argued 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?” Davies asked.

He stressed that the Council of State plays a pivotal role in governance, and any delays in its formation raise questions about the administration’s priorities. According to him, the President’s focus should have been on fulfilling constitutional obligations rather than creating structures without clear constitutional backing.

Davies’ comments add to growing scrutiny of the President’s decision-making and call into question the administration’s adherence to constitutional mandates.