Sophia Abena Boafoaa Akuffo, a former Chief Justice and now member of the Council of State, has said she is not going to be singing to the tunes of the President but provide him with advice as her mandate requires.
She has pledged her unbiased counsel to the President for the benefit of the citizenry, reemphasising the need to prioritise the interest of the state in the role she is currently serving.
Madam Akuffo, who served as Ghana’s Chief Justice between June 2017 and December 2019, after the inauguration of the Council by the President at the Jubilee House Tuesday, February 18, 2025, defended her right to be part of the 31-member Council of State.
She emphasised her qualifications and independence on the Edward Doe Adjaho chaired Council of State who will be providing advice to President John Dramani Mahama.
The former Chief Justice, who was visibly responding to concerns about a section of the public on her membership on the Council told journalists she qualifies per her position as a former head of Ghana’s judiciary. “I am a former Chief Justice. Am I not? Do I or do I not qualify?” she quizzed.
“I am there in my own right simply as a former Chief Justice. I am not even there representing the Judicial Service,” she added.
She disclosed further that an advisor is supposed to provide an advice and not to sing the praises of the President, assuring her commitment to counsel Mahama for the betterment of the State.
“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.
“An adviser speaks with honesty. An adviser looks to the best interest not only of the person they are advising but of the function the person is serving,” she explained.
Several concerns have come up over the relevance of the Council of State with many calling for its dissolution saying it is only a waste of national resources.
According to critics, the Council, although created by the Constitution, has outlived its usefulness, especially when its advice are not binding on the President.
But addressing the members after their swearing-in, President Mahama tasked them to prove the doubting Thomases wrong.
Convince ‘doubting Thomases’ about your relevance – Mahama tells Council of State members
