Kow Essuman threatens court action over unpaid benefits

A fresh legal dispute could be looming between the government and a former senior official of the Akufo-Addo administration after ex-Presidential Legal Counsel Kow Abaka Essuman demanded the settlement of benefits he says have remained unpaid since leaving office.

Essuman has given the Finance Ministry until September 11 to resolve the matter, warning through his lawyers that he is prepared to seek redress in court if the payments are not made.

At the centre of the dispute are salary arrears and end-of-service entitlements linked to his tenure at the Presidency. His legal team argues that the payments became due when his service ended in January 2025 but have yet to be released.

The former presidential aide served as Legal Counsel to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and later assumed additional duties as acting Secretary to the President during the final months of the administration.

Lawyers representing Essuman contend that officials in comparable positions have already received their benefits, making the continued delay in his case difficult to justify.

“The continued withholding of our Client’s entitlement is arbitrary, discriminatory, unfair and unlawful,” the lawyers said.

The claim includes terminal benefits tied to years of service, as well as interest calculated from the date he left office. His legal team insists the State’s failure to settle the amount has left him with no option but to consider legal action.

Unless the matter is resolved before the deadline, the disagreement could move from correspondence between lawyers and government officials to a courtroom, where the former presidential adviser is expected to pursue the recovery of the outstanding payments and related costs.

Source: myjoyonline.com