News:
September 6, 2016
Interior Minister Prosper Bani has denied claims by the outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church that Deputy Minister of Interior James Agalga lobbied him to take up the chairmanship of the Peace Council.
Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey has alleged that Mr Agalga who is also the Member of Parliament for Builsa North, called him on phone and made the offer.
A statement signed by the Interior Minister, Prosper Bani dismissed the allegation saying the Mr Agalga had denied ever making such a call.
It added that the deputy Minister had no power to make such an offer in the first place.
“Hon. James Agalga could not have ‘lobbied’ Rev. Prof. Martey to take up the position of Chairman of the Peace Council in view of the fact that he is not clothed with such power in view of the law,” the statement said.
Below are details of the statement
REV. PROF. EMMANUEL MARTEY DECEIVES THE PUBLIC ON ‘OFFER’ TO CHAIR NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL
The Ministry of the Interior has been following, with keen interest, wild allegations by Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey on various media platforms that the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Hon. James Agalga, in consultation with the Minister of the Interior, offered him the position as Chairman of the National Peace Council.
According to Section 4 (2) and (3) of the National Peace Council Act, 2011, Act 818 the position of the Chairperson of the Peace Council is elective, that is, only members of the Board can elect one of their members as the Chairperson.
Hon. James Agalga could not have ‘lobbied’ Rev. Prof. Martey to take up the position of Chairman of the Peace Council in view of the fact that he is not clothed with such power in view of the law.
As provided by the National Peace Council Act 2011, Act 818, members of the Board of the National Peace Council are nominated by –
(a) various religious bodies
(b) two persons nominated by the President
(c) two other persons nominated by identifiable groups (d) one representative of the National House of Chiefs.
Rev. Prof. Martey was nominated by the Christian Council of Ghana as a member of the Board in April 2016. Later, the Ministry was informed by a letter from the Christian Council about the decision to withdraw the nomination of Rev. Prof. Martey and the subsequent replacement by Rev. Dr. Adu Gyamfi.
The Ministry wishes to assure the general public that the National Peace Council is a credible institution constituting highly respected eminent persons duly nominated and elected by following the due processes provided by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.