Former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo has resigned from Ghana’s Council of State, bringing her tenure on the presidential advisory body to an end, according to sources familiar with the development.
According to a report by Asaaseradio.com, sources indicate that Justice Akuffo submitted her resignation last year and has not participated in any meetings of the Council of State since then.
Neither Justice Akuffo nor the Presidency has officially commented on the resignation, and the reasons behind her decision remain unclear.
The Council of State is a constitutional advisory body tasked with providing counsel to the President on matters of governance and national importance. Its membership comprises elected and appointed representatives from across the country.
Sophia Akuffo is one of Ghana’s most accomplished jurists. She served on the Supreme Court for over two decades before becoming Ghana’s 13th Chief Justice in 2017. She held the position until her retirement in 2020, becoming only the second woman to occupy the office after Georgina Theodora Wood.
Before her appointment as Chief Justice, Akuffo served as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights and held various positions within Ghana’s judiciary.
Her membership of the Council of State drew significant public attention in 2023 when she joined pensioner groups protesting aspects of the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP). At the time, she argued that retirees should not be made to shoulder a disproportionate share of the country’s economic recovery burden.
No official announcement has been made regarding who will replace her on the Council of State.
