By Emmanuella Sarfo

Copyright ghanaguardian

The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has rejected calls for a new constitutional instrument to replace Article 146, which outlines the process for removing a Chief Justice.

Speaking on Citi FM’s Eyewitness News on Monday, September 15, 2025, Mr. Dafeamekpor called such calls “illogical,” stressing that no new instrument can override the Constitution’s clear provisions.

“No process can succeed because any instrument, whether a legislative or constitutional instrument, that will amplify the procedure under 146 can not vary, can’t deviate, can’t depart from what is already captured in concrete under 146. The clamour for an instrument that will depart from what the constitution provides is an illogical reasoning because the instrument will be a derivative of what the constitution provides. It can only mirror and give flesh to what the constitution stipulates, it can not depart from it, it can’t vary it, it can’t be different from it,” he argued.

While dismissing the idea of replacing Article 146, Mr. Dafeamekpor did acknowledge that additional rules could be used to supplement the existing framework without altering its core principles.

“You can only add flesh to it, for instance, when they say prima facie, determination must be made, pursuant of the decision in the Agyei Twum versus Attorney General, then maybe a timeline would be provided, but you can’t say that a prima facie determination can’t take place,” he explained.

His comments come amid public debates following the removal of Chief Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkornoo by President John Dramani Mahama under Article 146. Calls for reform have intensified, with many arguing that the current procedure is too flexible compared to the removal processes for leaders of the other two branches of government.