Gov't must apologise over delayed disclosure of Sophia Akuffo's Council of State resignation — Martin Amidu

Former Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu has criticised the Mahama administration over what he describes as a lack of transparency in handling the resignation of former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo from the Council of State.

According to him, the government should have informed the public much earlier about the resignation, which was submitted in September 2025, instead of allowing the matter to emerge through media reports months later.

Following the media reports, Minister of State in Charge of Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on Monday, confirmed that the former Chief Justice had indeed resigned from the Council of State without stating any reasons for her decision.

"The Government owes the sovereign people of Ghana an explanation for its refusal or failure to make her resignation public," Mr. Amidu stated in an opinion editorial released on Sunday, June 14.

He argued that citizens are entitled to transparency from governments operating under the 1992 Constitution and questioned why the resignation was not disclosed after Sophia Akuffo ceased attending Council of State meetings.

According to him, the circumstances surrounding the delayed disclosure create the impression that the information was intentionally withheld from the public.

Mr. Amidu further called on President John Dramani Mahama to make the former Chief Justice's resignation letter public to enable Ghanaians to assess the reasons behind her decision.

"President Mahama should not only confirm the resignation but also publicly disclose the content of her resignation letter for the public to judge for themselves whether the grounds of her resignation are reasonable and justified," he said.

The former Special Prosecutor cautioned that withholding information of such public importance for several months could undermine confidence in government and fuel speculation about the reasons behind the resignation.