Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah was called to the Ghana Bar on 9 October 2026, one of 1,568 new lawyers admitted by the General Legal Council.
The admission allows Buah, the Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, to practise as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana. As minister, he oversees land administration, mining and forestry, areas run largely through statute and regulation.
He was not the only cabinet member called that day. Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations Minister Samuel Nartey George was also admitted, along with Citi FM Eyewitness News host Umaru Sanda Amadu and former Eastern Regional Minister Seth Acheampong. Buah and George had attended a black-tie Call to the Bar dinner in Accra two days earlier, on 7 October.
The minister’s links to law go back to his student years. According to his ministry, Buah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Science with a major in law from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from the University of Law in the United Kingdom and a Master of Science in Management from the University of Maryland. He was born at Atuabo in the Western Region in 1966.
Buah has represented Ellembelle since 2009. He served as Minister for Energy and Petroleum from 2013 to 2016 under John Mahama’s first administration. President Mahama named him Lands Minister in January 2025.
The ceremony was the Ghana School of Law’s 63rd Call to the Bar. It took place at the International Central Gospel Church’s Christ Temple on Teshie Bush Road in Accra. Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, who chairs the General Legal Council, opened the session. Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine also attended.
The cohort is large for a profession of Ghana’s size. The General Legal Council has said the number of lawyers in Ghana grew from just over 2,000 in 2010 to more than 6,500 in 2024.
The intake also comes during an overhaul of legal training. Parliament has passed the Legal Education Reform Bill, 2026, and Baffoe-Bonnie has said the new regime will widen opportunities while keeping standards. Under the changes, students can now choose to be enrolled at either an October or a March call.
