Akwasi Addai Odike has likened President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s leadership, like the others in the Fourth Republic, to that of a military rule.
He says the President, just like all the others in the Fourth Republic, does things like a leader who ascended his position through coup d’etat.
The founder and Presidential Candidate of the United Front Party (UFP) says the executive powers granted the Presidents under the current republic provides no distinction between democracy and military rule.
“The constitution is like a soldier who has done a coup and is ruling because he has absolute control over all the institutions. He holds the nation to ransom.
“So, President Akufo-Addo does things like someone who came to power through coup d’etat. It is not him alone but all those in the Fourth Republic because the constitution has given them so much power, so they do whatever they want. And if you do whatever you want, it is just like someone who makes a coup and takes over a country. He takes absolute control due to the powers the constitution has granted him,” he told Onua TV/FM’s JB on Maakye Monday, January 08, 2024.
He said it was time the powers of the President were trimmed to grant some appointing authority to the respective institutions.
“Our policy is that the executive powers are too much, so we will grant the appointment authority to the departments to be autonomous. Out of the 19 cabinet ministers, the president can appoint four and the rest would be appointed by the institutions.
“If the president hates you, you’ll be hated by the state institutions who are there to serve state interest. Because the President appoints those in charge, if you are an opposition and they don’t like you, unless there is change of government. But these institutions are supposed to serve the public, but they do what the president says,” he indicated.
Mr. Odike also bemoaned the appointment of majority of ministers from the Legislature, which he says has affected the separation of powers and checks and balances within the arms of government.
“We are still living in our past. The constitution is static, and development always stalls when there is transfer of power because every government comes with its own manifesto,” he stated.
READ ALSO: ‘Ghana is practicing a fake democracy’ – Odike asserts
