“Eight Years Is a Calendar Fact, Not a Party Slogan” – NHIA Deputy CEO Defends Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in charge of Finance and Investment, Ms Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri Esq., has strongly condemned ongoing public attacks directed at the Chief Justice, Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, following his recent remarks on the state of the nation’s governance and public institutions.
Defending the head of the Judiciary, Ms Bogobiri insisted that critics misinterpreting the Chief Justice’s words are being “deliberately mischievous,” clarifying that his reference to the “past eight years” is a precise statement of chronological fact rather than a partisan political commentary.
Chronological Precision, Not Partisanship
The controversy stems from comments made by Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie regarding the historical trajectory of key public entities: “Sometimes when we hear how well some state organisations are doing now, we wonder what we’ve been doing for the past eight years and how Ghana could have sunk so low.”
Addressing accusations of political bias, Ms Bogobiri emphasised that as a senior jurist, the Chief Justice is bound by precision rather than vague generalities. Pointing out that the previous administration governed from January 7, 2017, to January 6, 2025—a period spanning exactly eight years—she argued that setting an exact timeline was necessary to define the period under review accurately.
“The phrase ‘past eight years’ is NOT political. It is chronological. It is factual. And it is the duty of a statesman not to speak VAGUELY,” Ms Bogobiri stated. “As a Judge, he cannot say ‘some time ago’ or ‘in the past’ like a market gossip. He must be precise. ‘Past eight years’ is precision, not partisanship.”
Reflecting the Verdict of State Institutions
Ms. Bogobiri further argued that the Chief Justice was merely echoing truths already affirmed by key public entities themselves. She cited major organisations—including COCOBOD, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), and the National Investment Bank (NIB)—that have recently reported financial and operational turnarounds after years of severe losses.
She questioned whether the head of the Judiciary should be expected to suppress public facts simply to remain politically comfortable, noting, “If those institutions say they were sinking in the past eight years and are now recovering, is the Chief Justice supposed to hide that fact to be politically correct? A Chief Justice speaks truth, not political convenience.”
Acknowledging Ghana’s Collective Economic Reality
According to the NHIA Deputy CEO, characterising Ghana’s recent history as a period where the nation “sunk so low” is not an insult or a partisan jab, but a reflection of the harsh economic realities experienced across the country. She highlighted the severe economic pressures citizens endured during that window, including the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP), bond haircuts, inflation peaking at 54 per cent, steep currency depreciation, debt defaults, and the reliance on an IMF bailout.
“Saying Ghana ‘sunk so low’ is not a partisan statement or an insult; it is the lived experience of every Ghanaian,” she asserted. “The Chief Justice is just acknowledging our collective past pain. To call that partisan is to insult Ghanaians who suffered it.”
Statesmanship over Political Expediency
In her closing remarks, Ms Bogobiri maintained that as the head of an entire arm of government, the Chief Justice possesses both the right and the responsibility to comment on how broader governance impacts justice and national stability.
“A Chief Justice is a statesman, not a coward,” Ms Bogobiri affirmed. “If a Chief Justice cannot state that in the past eight years Ghana went through a period of decline, then we are asking him to be vague, to be dishonest, to be a coward. A statesman does not speak vaguely to please politicians. He speaks factually to build the nation.”
She reiterated that the timeline from 2017 to 2025 remains a measurable, factual reality for the country, concluding that “facts have no party colours.
Source: Felix Nyaaba/expressnewsghana.com
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