Bagbin Has Not Ditched GBA

Alban Bagbin 

Acting President of the Law Society of Ghana (LSG), Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has refuted claims and media reports that the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, has resigned from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in favour of the LSG.

According to him, the claims and rumours are untrue and misleading, as the Speaker did not say anything to that effect in any of his engagements with the interim leadership of the LSG.

The leadership of the newly-formed Law Society of Ghana on September 20, 2022, paid a courtesy call on the Speaker to, among other things, congratulate him on his elevation as President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and to also to introduce the group to him.

It was after the meeting that there were several rumours and media reportage that Mr. Bagbin has quit the Ghana Bar Association in favour of the Law Society of Ghana.

But speaking to Joy FM, Mr. Dafeamekpor, said “It must be placed on record that nowhere in the Speaker’s welcoming remarks during our visit did he ever state that he has resigned from the Ghana Bar Association (GBA). In his remarks, he expressed in strong words his revulsion about the state of the GBA and wishes to see a change for a better Bar Association committed to the aims, objectives and ethics as captured and practiced globally.”

He continued that Mr. Bagbin during the meeting indicated that the GBA has now become too elitist, stressing that he used to pay his dues religiously until it came to his attention that any lawyer that had a close association with the then Public Tribunal Court was not recognised and paid their last respects by the GBA, upon death.

“He cited instances. As a result, his interest in the GBA has diminished and with it the non-payment of his membership dues,” Mr. Dafeamekpor explained.

He indicated that the Speaker welcomed the formation of the Law Society of Ghana and pledged his support to the interim executives, and further charged the LSG to seek to shape national discourse and fight against injustice in all forms in Ghana.

BY Gibril Abdul Razak