 has replied to Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for){kind=link}
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) has replied to Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, after he claimed the Bar Association had snubbed President John Mahama for the upcoming 2025 Annual Conference.
The GBA, in a statement, describe the allegations as false, misleading, and a misconception of facts.
In a statement signed by the Ghana Bar Association President, Mrs Efua Ghartey, read, “The attention of the Ghana Bar Association (the GBA) has been drawn to publications stating that the GBA did not invite the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, to the 2025 Annual Conference of the GBA, and that the GBA has not accorded the President of the Republic the level of prominence given to the immediate past president of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Annual Conferences of the GBA in the years 2017 through to 2024. The publication also raises a concern about the fact that the GBA has rather invited the Chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales.
The allegations in the publications are false, misleading, and a misconception of facts, and the GBA urges all persons to verify information (which the GBA is available to give) on such matters before publishing the same”.
The GBA statement revealed President Mahama had already accepted to honour their invitation.
“The GBA wishes to set the record straight by stating that the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, has been invited as the Guest of Honour at the 2025 Annual Conference of the GBA to be held in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, and the President has graciously accepted to honour the invitation.
As far back as March 2025, the Bar Council paid a courtesy call on the President and extended an informal invitation. Thereafter, we sent a formal invitation letter dated 21st July, 2025, which was received at the presidency on 29th July, 2025. Subsequently, the GBA received an acceptance letter from the presidency dated 1st August, 2025, with Ref. No. OPS 311/25/2817”.
“This year’s Conference shall be under the distinguished patronage of H.E. John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana, as Guest of Honour”, the statement added.
The GBA also responded to the allegations of inviting the Bar Council of England and Wales after their controversial letter demanding that the president reinstate the suspended Chief Justice.
“We also wish to place on record that this is not the first time the Bar Council of England and Wales is joining the GBA at its annual Conference. At the Association’s Annual Conference held in Ho, the Volta Regional capital in the year 2022, the Bar Council of England and Wales participated in the Conference.
The GBA also maintains relationships with other professional bodies like the African Bar Association, the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Sierra Leonean Bar Association, Law Society of Kenya, the Law Society England and Wales, the American Bar Association, among others, who from year to year are invited to attend programmes of the GBA”, it added.
The GBA statement follows; Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the Legal practitioner and Member of Parliament for South Dayi, has fired shots at the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) over their list of speakers scheduled for the GBA’s 2025 annual conference.
The Majority Chief Whip in a post on X on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, shared a list of speakers scheduled for the GBA’s 2025 annual conference.
He recounted that the Ghana Bar Association from 2017 to 2024 almost always had former President Akufo-Addo as their Special Guest of Honour and Speaker, but in 2025, John Mahama is missing in the list of advertised Speakers.
According to Dafeamekpor, the Ghana Bar Association’s unalloyed bias against JDM and the NDC government is too glaring to be ignored.
Dafeamekpor, in his post, wrote, “I saw how the GBA organised its Annual Conference from 2017-2024 in this country.
The then Prez, Nana Akuffo Addo, was nearly always the Special Guest of Honour & Speaker.
That isn’t the case in 2025. The Prez is conspicuously missing from the list of advertised Speakers at the Confab”.
He further accused the Ghana Bar Association leadership of inviting the President of the Bar Council of England and Wales after they recently attacked the John Mahama-led government.
Dafeamekpor added, “What’s curious is that the GBA leadership has rather decided to invite the President of the Bar Council of England & Wales. A group that recently attacked this Govt without any provocation.
GBA, kindly add the Prez of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association for effect.
Your unalloyed bias against JDM and the NDC Govt is too glaring to be ignored now. You can continue to act as a Wing of the main opposition party to do its bidding, we are ready for you”, he confidently added.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Bar Association Annual Conference is scheduled to be held in Wa, Upper West from September 14 to September 19, 2025.
See the statement below:
