Sophia Akuffo did same under Nana Addo – Anatu Bogobiri Esq defends CJ over ‘past eight years’ comments

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Anatu Anne Seidu Bogobiri, has defended Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie over comments comparing the performance of state institutions under the current administration to the previous eight years.

Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie has come under public scrutiny and political backlash following remarks he made during an official working visit to the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).

Praising the institution’s recent performance, the Chief Justice said: “Sometimes when we hear how well some state organisations are doing now, we wonder what we really have been doing in the past eight years.”

His comments have been criticised by some members of the opposition, who have described them as partisan and inappropriate for a sitting Chief Justice.

However, in a statement issued on September 4, 2026, Ms Bogobiri argued that the criticism amounted to a double standard, pointing to comments made by former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo during the administration of former President Nana Akufo-Addo.

She recalled that in March 2018, Justice Akuffo publicly commended the implementation of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy, then a flagship programme of the Akufo-Addo administration.

According to Ms Bogobiri, the former Chief Justice called on stakeholders to support the policy, urging teachers, administrators, parents and guardians to contribute to its success.

“While commending government for the brave step in implementing Free SHS, she said it calls for periodic fine-tuning and called on teachers, administrators, parents and guardians to give their wholehearted support as vital partners for its survival and sustenance,” she quoted Justice Akuffo as saying.

Ms Bogobiri questioned why similar comments by Baffoe-Bonnie should now be interpreted as partisan.

“The Judicial Oath requires Judges to be impartial in adjudicating cases before them, not to be silent robots on national development,” she said.

She maintained that Baffoe-Bonnie was not speaking from the bench but encouraging support for an agenda he believes could benefit Ghana.

“If it was nation-building when Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo called for support for Free SHS, then it is also nation-building when Chief Justice Baffoe-Bonnie calls for support for President Mahama’s reset agenda,” she said.