The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday swore in the members of the Council of State, with a call on them to provide him with advice based on the truth, no matter how distasteful it might be.

He advised the members of the council to break the tradition of praise-singing and rather be forthright about situations, so that he could steer affairs of state towards growth, progress and prosperity.

“It will be easy to fall into the well-known temptation of telling the President what you think he wants to hear; it will be equally tempting to tell the President he is the best thing that ever happened to Ghana, and it will be even more tempting to tell the President to ignore his critics. I expect that this council will not walk this road.

“In our tradition of praise-singing and grand titling, it must be very tempting for a President to lapse into thinking that he is all-powerful and able to do whatever he wants. We have had the experience of Presidents being accorded long and very elaborate titles and being told that they are all-powerful and cannot be contradicted,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The Council of State is made up of 25 members, including the President of the National House of Chiefs, who is an ex-officio member. Per the Constitution, the council is made up of 10 regional elected representatives and 14 others appointed by the President. The President administered the oaths of Council of State Member, Secrecy and Allegiance to the members.

A member of the Council of State and Juabenhene, Nana Otuo Siriboe II, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, expressed his gratitude to the President for the honour done them to serve the country.

He said the council would work to address the lack of adequate public awareness of its functions by publishing annual reports of its activities to highlight its consultations with the Executive, the Legislature and other state departments.

President Akufo Addo was unable to appoint a former Chief Justice (CJ) to the council, as required by the constitution, because there was no living former CJ.

Source: GraphicOnline