The Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has called on President John Dramani Mahama to withhold his assent to the Tribunals Bill, 2026, passed by Parliament last week.
In a statement addressed to Ghanaians, Dr. Bawumia described the Bill as a measure with the potential to “reshape our justice delivery system, confidence in our judiciary and the future of our democracy all together.”
“I have one respectful request of President Mahama. Mr Presiden, do not sign this Bill. Pause, and let the nation talk,” he said.
Parliament passed the Bill last week after waiving the mandatory one-day interval between the consideration stage and the third reading, allowing passage on the same day.
Objections raised by the Minority were voted down, and concerns from organised labour were not accommodated. The Bill is expected to be transmitted to the President for assent shortly.
Dr. Bawumia insisted his intervention was not partisan, pointing to the Trades Union Congress’s call for the Bill to be withdrawn altogether over fears it could become “a potent tool for weaponising justice delivery.”
He urged the President instead to convene “genuine national engagement” involving the Ghana Bar Association, organised labour, civil society, the Judiciary, and the political parties. “We will come in good faith,” he pledged.
“Justice belongs to no government and no party. It belongs to the Ghanaian people, and a law that reshapes the architecture of justice should rest on national consensus, not on a headcount,” he said.
He recommended that the President use Articles 90 and 106 of the 1992 Constitution to refer the matter to the Council of State.
