The early stages of the vetting of Chief Justice nominee Paul Baffoe-Bonnie by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday, November 10, 2025, saw a brief disagreement between the Committee Chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, and the First Deputy Minority Whip, Alhaji Habib Iddrisu.

The incident occurred when Chairman Ahiafor, at the start of the proceedings, directed the Clerk of the Committee to lead nominee Justice Baffoe-Bonnie in taking the oath.

Minority moves to stop Paul Baffoe-Bonnie's vetting

Ahiafor referred to Justice Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice rather than Chief Justice nominee, which some aggrieved committee members felt was inappropriate.

The remark briefly sparked a noisy atmosphere, seemingly disrupting the proceedings.

Ahiafor called for order, citing Parliament’s standing orders, which require a member who wishes to speak to “catch the eye of the Speaker or Chairman.”

“When you have an issue, the practice is that you catch the eye of the Speaker and, in this case, the eye of the Chairman. You don't have the right to ask anybody to stop proceedings for you to say whatever you want to say. Honorable members, the idea is: why should I refer to him as Chief Justice but not Chief Justice nominee?” he said.

In response, Alhaji Habib was granted permission to speak and express his concerns.

According to him, Ahiafor’s reference to Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice rather than Chief Justice nominee would be recorded in the Hansard, prompting him to call on Ahiafor to have the remark expunged.

“Initially, you said the clerk should swear in the Chief Justice, and this is Parliament, so for the record of Parliament, that will be captured. If you are correcting it, then direct that your earlier statement should be expunged from the record,” he suggested.

In rebuttal, Ahiafor stated that his colleague did not have the authority to give him instructions and therefore refused to comply.

LIVESTREAMING: Vetting of Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as Chief Justice nominee

“Unfortunately, you don't have the right to tell me what I should do. Once the correction has been made, may we proceed to administer the oath,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Committee is expected to ask Justice Baffoe-Bonnie questions about his qualifications, experience, and vision for his role as Chief Justice.

You can't tell me what to do.
Simple. pic.twitter.com/Il9odyEAoG

— Julius Kwame Anthony 𓃵 (@fatheranthoni) November 10, 2025