Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo resigned as Council of State member in September 2025
It has been explained that former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo submitted her resignation letter as a member of the Council of State in September 2025.
Since then, she has not attended any Council of State meetings.
Justice Sophia Akuffo served as Chief Justice from 2017 to 2020 and was serving as one of the 31 members of the current Council of State advisory body, chaired by former Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho.
She had earlier last year clarified that she was not representing the Judiciary on the Council of State but was serving in her own right as a former Chief Justice in line with the 1992 Constitution, which states that a former Chief Justice should be a member of the Council.
Her exit followed her dissenting position when the Council of State voted in April 2025 on whether a prima facie case had been established against a petition that was asking for the removal from office of the then Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo.
She subsequently appeared before the Article 146 committee at the request of the then-suspended Chief Justice Torkornoo herself to testify in her defence.
In an interview in September 2025, Justice Sophia Akuffo publicly criticised the proceedings, arguing that Justice Torkornoo had not received a fair hearing.
She described the process as a "treason trial," and warned that it had weakened the judiciary, and contended that the allegations against Torkornoo lacked the gravity required to justify removing the head of a justice institution.
The Council of State is a constitutional body mandated to advise the President on matters of national importance.
Government Communications Minister's reaction
Commenting on the resignation of Justice Sophia Akuffo at a press briefing at the presidency on Monday afternoon [June 15, 2026], the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications and Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said: "I can confirm that Justice Sophia A.B. Akuffo has resigned from her position as a member of the Council of State. She submitted a letter in September 2025 to the President indicating her desire to resign.
"She did not disclose the reason for wanting to resign. When the President received the letter, he was required then to indicate his acceptance of the resignation but at the behest of the Council of State, he had to hold on because they said they wanted to engage Justice Sophia Akuffo to see if there was some grievance that she had that was informing the resignation, whether or not there was a way that it could be addressed, so they asked the President to hold on with the acceptance.
"But they got back and said they had engaged and as far as they were concerned, the resignation could be accepted, so the President has formally accepted her resignation and she is no longer a member of the Council of State.
"The law is clear on what processes to undertake to replace her as we speak, and so in due course, a replacement will be announced for Justice Sophia Akuffo.
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