Acting Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has rejected claims that Ghana is experiencing a constitutional power vacuum, following concerns raised by the Minority Caucus in Parliament about the absence of the President, Vice President, and Speaker of Parliament from the country.
He clarified that the architecture of Ghana’s government is functioning as intended, with institutional continuity fully intact.
“I thought there were three – the Judiciary, the Executive, and the Legislature. Is the Acting CJ in Ghana? There is an Acting CJ. It is not personal. It is the office.
“So as we speak, there is an Acting CJ of the Republic, and that is the reason we have three arms of government…What I can say is that there is no power vacuum. It does appear that the President is in the country,” Tamakloe told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Channel One TV’s Face to Face on Tuesday, May 13.
The Minority in a statement on Monday, May 12, 2025, accused the government of flouting the Constitution.
According to the Minority, at the time of their statement, President John Dramani Mahama was in Togo attending the African Union Debt Conference, Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang was receiving medical treatment in the UK, and Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin was also abroad.
Citing Article 60 of the Constitution, the Minority argued that in such instances, an Acting President must be sworn in—either the Speaker or, in their absence, the Chief Justice. However, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo remains under suspension, further compounding the constitutional dilemma.
Despite the Minority’s assertion that this situation constitutes a “deliberate and calculated” violation of the Constitution, Tamakloe maintained that there is no leadership crisis.
By insisting that the acting Chief Justice is present and that the presidency remains intact, Tamakloe sought to allay fears of a constitutional breakdown.
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