Mahama will engage NPP when he feels like it – Ayariga

Environment Minister, Mahama Ayariga, has dismissed concerns by the incoming administration of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that the outgoing president is taking rash decisions designed to tie the hands of the new government.

President Mahama swore in Joseph Akanjolenur Whittal as the new head of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Josephine Nkrumah to head the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Tuesday.

The team of the President-Elect, led by Mr Osafo Marfo in press release asserted that these appointments coming barely 24 Hours after the agreement and less than three weeks away from the inauguration of the incoming President is most disappointing and exhibits bad faith.

But Mahama Ayariga disputes any such agreement was reached between the two transition teams. “You can’t just go to a committee meeting and whittle down [the President’s] power”, he said.

The Bawku Central MP said he can only testify that at the meeting of the transition teams, ‘there was an agreement to engage’.

He said he believes that these engagements are “in tiers”. There are some areas where the President and his government will ‘engage’ and others it will not.
“So if you feel like engaging, you do, if you feel like you can go ahead and exercise your powers as set out in the constitution, you go ahead,” he emphasized.
The decision to appoint the two heads falls in the category of those which do not merit any consultations, he stressed.

He explained that President Mahama is going according to the letter of the constitution and not the spirit.
“If we start looking for the spirit we will find so many spirits…. You will see the spirit in the direction of Mecca, somebody will see the spirit in the direction of Israel”, he laughed.

Source:Myjoyonline