Franklin Cudjoe, the President of IMANI Africa, has defended the Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, over his comments on the performance of state institutions.
The IMANI president dismissed suggestions that the remarks by the Chief Justice were politically motivated.
According to Franklin Cudjoe, there was nothing inherently wrong with the Chief Justice commenting on public matters during an official engagement.
Mr Cudjoe noted that the Chief Justice was only responding to a presentation on the performance of state institutions and was therefore genuinely expected to offer his observations.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on Thursday, September 3, Franklin Cudjoe stated, “Is it not the truth that some of these state institutions are performing better? Come on, just look at the data. What are you talking about? I mean, the data speaks for itself. It is a fact. Did he lie? I mean, did he lie?”.
“Everybody has an opinion,” he said. “Nobody is suggesting to the Chief Justice that he can’t speak on any public matter.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with it. I don’t see why people are thinking that it is political,” he added.
It will be recalled that on Wednesday, September 2, the Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, toured some state institutions where he questioned how Ghana sank so low in the past eight years under the former administration.
The Chief Justice expressed astonishment at the performance of some state institutions over the past eight years.
According to Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, comparing the current progress of some state institutions with their performance over the past eight years, he wonders what went wrong in the last eight years.
The Chief Justice lauded the performance of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and other public institutions under the current Mahama administration.
Speaking during a visit to MIIF on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, he said he was impressed by what he had seen at the institution and other state entities.
Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie stated, “I must congratulate you. I mean, you have done marvellously well. Sometimes, when we hear about the things that you have done and the things that some organisations are doing now, we wonder. Some of us keep wondering what we really have been doing in the past eight years”.
“We’ve just come back from SSNIT. We went to SSNIT this morning, and the kind of things that we heard and what we had heard even before we went there, if you compare that with the fact that, not too long ago, SSNIT was preparing to sell its prized assets like the Labadi Beach Hotel, you wonder how Ghana could have sunk so low,” he added.
Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has boldly told the Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie that he swore an allegiance to Ghana’s Constitution, not to a President.
The NPP questioned the neutrality of the Chief Justice following what it describes as his vow to do everything possible to ensure the agenda of President John Dramani Mahama succeeds.
According to the NPP, the Chief Justice’s comments are language for party propagandists, of a kind exclusively reserved for NDC communicators and serial callers.
The NPP General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, in a statement issued on September 3, 2026, described the comments by the Chief Justice as inappropriate for the head of Ghana’s Judiciary.
The NPP argued that the Chief Justice, as head of an independent arm of government, must remain politically neutral and uphold his judicial oath to administer justice without fear, favour, affection or ill will.
They further criticised the Chief Justice’s frequent presence at events involving political appointees of the current government, stressing that such conduct could undermine public confidence in the Judiciary’s neutrality.
The NPP further questioned the Chief Justice’s reported commitment to doing everything possible to ensure the success of the President’s agenda, particularly as some persons associated with the NPP are facing prosecution under the government’s Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) initiative.
“Let it be stated plainly: this is not the language of a Chief Justice. It is the language of a party propagandist, of a kind exclusively reserved for NDC communicators and serial callers, and it has no place whatsoever in the mouth of the head of Ghana’s Judiciary”.
“A Chief Justice swears a single oath, and it is to the Constitution: to no President, no party and no agenda,” the party stated.
@ghnow_ Hon. Ewurabena Aubynn is empowering constituents of Ablekuma North through poultry farming by distributing birds and supporting sustainable livelihood opportunities. 🐔🇬🇭 #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – NDCMUSICHQ
@ghnow_ Hon Ewurabena Aubynn donates chicks to Ablekuma North Poulty Farmers #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – NDCMUSICHQ
