Govt has no interest in who becomes Chief Imam – Attorney General clarifies

Attorney General Godfred Dame has said the government will be engaging in “excessive entanglement” if at any point it tries to interfere with the process of electingleadership of any religious group in the country.

The government’s top lawyer stressed that processes leading to the selection or succession of religious leaders were internal affairs that needed to be handled by competent people and processes.

“… the state is also not involved or interested in who becomes head of the Catholic, Methodist or Presbyterian Mission in Ghana.

“So I told him (visiting Muslim leader) that the matter of the succession of the National Chief Imam, however his concerns, were of no concern to me and he should also not be of concern to him,” he said during a Tuesday May 18, 2021 courtesy call on the National Chief Imam Sheikh Osmanu Nuhu Sharubutu.

Dame was reacting to social media posts in April 2021 that suggested that he had during a meeting with leader of the Tijaniyya Muslim Council, Sheikh Khalifa Ahmed Abdul FadiMaikanoJallo, discussed the issue of succession of the National Chief Imam.

Expanding on the issue which gained traction among the Muslim fraternity, the Minister stressed that most social media posts relating to the matter had been deliberately twisted which mischief he sought to cure by having a fake social media account in his name closed down.

“Surprisingly, about three days after the visit, I saw reported Twitter publications. I do not even use social media at all. I do not have Facebook account, I do not have a Twitter account so I was quite surprised,” he said.

He also disclosed that the issue had caught the attention of the Vice President and National Security Minister who contacted him on the matter.

He thanked the Chief Imam for his audience and praised him as a pillar of peace for the country at all material times.