The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has refuted what he believes to be conspiracies against him by the Majority Group in Parliament to brand him as a Partial Speaker. He has therefore reassured the Ghanaian public of his commitment to remain impartial.
The Speaker made the comment when he addressed a gathering of Members of Parliament and resource persons at the post-budget workshop on the 2022 budget presentation held at the Volta Serene Hotel in Ho over the weekend.
“Please the branding will not wash. I have always done everything to show that in the performance of my duties as a Speaker, I am impartial. As a member of a party, then you can classify me as NDC. But in the performance of my duty, I will do everything to assure everybody in Ghana that I am impartial. That will happen,” he forcefully indicated.
He was pushed to respond to an observation made by the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu, who complained about being left out of a courtesy call to the overlord of the Asogli State by the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin.
The Rt. Hon. Speaker then narrated how the Majority Group have consistently failed to show up on his invitation for courtesy calls and said, though he is trying to carry everyone along with him as the Speaker of the 8th Parliament, the Majority Group have been undermining his efforts to build a cohesive family.
He said, “I have always tried to let us move together as one family. And so even at the public forum in Kumasi, which actually is called the Speaker’s Breakfast Forum. Usually as a tradition, we have to pay courtesy call on the overlord of the land we enter to hold an activity. I did invite both sides of the House. Surprisingly when I got there, it was only my friend the Second Deputy Speaker who showed up as the one in between the middle.
“My friends from the other side, led by some friends (the Majority Leader) did not show up. Today, the same thing has been repeated. In fact, if you look at the manifest to come here, the list is very clear, everybody was included. When I entered the plane, I was told that they would be joining me this morning.
“The Minority Leader and his team were there and when we came, we were warmly received by the Regional Minister who has been my friend for many years. So, I was expecting to have a team with me today to go. Again, not a single one showed up. In fact, this was commented on by the overlord of the Asogli State.”
Source: Parliamentnews360.com