Out of 30 Members of the Council of State Elected and appointed, only four are women.
Out of the four women, three of them were appointed by the President, and the incumbent Western Regional representative on the Council of State, Eunice Jacqueline Buah, won her bid to be retained in the role.
The President, subject to consultation with Parliament, has also appointed, by Article 89(2)(a)(i)(ii) and (iii), Georgina Theodora Wood, a former Chief Justice, Dr. Margaret Amoakohene, and Mrs. Georgina Kusi.
The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, under Article 89(2) of the Constitution, has appointed the following eleven (11) persons to the Council of State:
Nana Otuo Siriboe II, Juabenhene
Archbishop Justice Ofei Akrofi
Mr. Sam Okudzeto
Mr. Stanley Blankson
Prof. Ato Essuman
Alhaji Aminu Amadu
Dr. Margaret Amoakohene
Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI
Alhaji Sule Yiremiah
Other Ex officio members are Lt. Gen. J.B. Danquah, a former Chief of Defence Staff of the Armed Forces, and Nana Owusu Nsiah, a former Inspector General of Police, to the Council. The President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, is ex-officio a member of the Council, in furtherance of Article 89(2)(b).
There is a court injunction on the Bono East.
Those elected will join the president’s 11 appointees to form the council to advise him for his second four-year tenure.
Those elected Friday across the country included a former Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Enoch Teye Mensah for the Greater Accra Region; Biochemist and businessman, Mr. Paa Kofi Ansong, for the Eastern Region; a 63-year-old farmer and businessman, Mr. Yaw Basoa, for the Ahafo Region; a 65-year-old former Principal of the Bagabaga College of Education in the Sagnarigu municipality, Alhaji Adam Zakaria for the Savannah Region, and a traditional ruler and businessman, Nana Katakyie Kwasi Bumagama II, 63 for Western North.
Another traditional ruler and businessman, Nana Owusu Achiaw Brempong was also retained for the Ashanti Region; a former Director of Finance for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Col Mahamoud Tahiru Zunglana, for Northern Region; the Paramount Chief of Talensi Traditional Area, Tong-Raan Kugbilsong Nalebegtang, for Upper East Region; a retired teacher Alhaji Adam Zakaria, for the Savannah Region.
The rest are the Chairman of the Wa Technical University Council, Professor Daniel Debagah, for the Upper West Region; businessman and energy consultant, Mr. Francis Albert Seth Nyonuo, who was re-elected for the Volta Region; the Paramount Chief of Breman Essiam, Odeefuo Afankwa III, for the Central Region; businessman and Chairman of Legon Cities Football Club, Mr. Richard E. Atikpo, for the Oti Region and 77-year-old journalist, Mr. Kodwo Agyenim Boateng, re-elected for the Bono Region.
The Council of State plays a significant role in the governance of the country. It is enjoined by the Constitution to counsel the President in the performance of his functions.
Its advisory role is akin to what pertains in many families where there are elders to be consulted, especially when very difficult decisions have to be taken or when there is a crisis that requires wisdom to resolve.
Specifically, the Council is to consider and advise the President or any other authority in respect of any appointment, which is required by the Constitution or any other law to be made by the advice of, or in consultation with, the Council.
Also, upon request or on its initiative, the Council is to consider and make recommendations on any matter being considered or dealt with by the President, a Minister of State, or any other authority established by the Constitution.
Over the years, the Council has mostly worked silently in the background, fulfilling its mandate as enshrined in the Constitution, with people chosen to serve on it usually being elderly people of various competencies who wield respect in society.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Kofi Atakora
