The appointment of former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo to Ghana’s Council of State has sparked discussions about her role under President John Mahama’s administration.
Addressing concerns about her independence, legal practitioner Martin Kpebu has stated that while she will offer the president sound counsel, she will not be submissive to him.
“Sophia Akuffo will give JM good advice, it is not that she is going to kowtow to JM, she made that clear that she is not there on the ticket of the Judiciary,” Kpebu said on The KeyPoints on TV3 on Saturday, March 1.
His comments come amid debates over the neutrality of appointees to the Council of State, a body established to provide nonpartisan advice to the president on governance matters.
Some critics have questioned whether Akuffo, who was appointed Chief Justice under the Akufo-Addo administration, can remain objective under Mahama.
However, she has firmly dismissed any notions of bias, emphasizing that she was selected for the position based on her experience as a former Chief Justice, not as a representative of the Judiciary.
“I am a former Chief Justice. Am I not? Do I or do I not qualify?” she asked journalists rhetorically after her swearing-in during an interview,
“I am there in my own right simply as a former Chief Justice. I am not even there representing the Judicial Service,” she added, reinforcing her stance on serving independently.
Her appointment has also reignited conversations about the role of the Council of State and its effectiveness in Ghana’s governance structure.
Over the years, critics have argued that the body merely serves as a rubber stamp for presidential decisions rather than offering objective counsel.
But Sophia Akuffo has sought to allay such fears, making it clear that her advisory role will not be one of mere compliance.
“The Council of State is a body that is supposed to be advising the president. I am not going to be singing his master’s voice, so to speak. An adviser does not parrot,” she asserted.
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