Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader in Parliament, Tuesday refuted allegations that immediate former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu did the bidding of the Majority Caucus.
There are rumuorrs that Mr Iddrisu did the bidding of the Majority Caucus in Parliament, hence, the reshuffle of the Minority Leadership in Parliament by the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said such claims were untrue.
“Mr Speaker, let me state emphatically and unambiguously that no such thing happened. I had developed a very harmonious working relationship with the previous leadership, but people then read meanings into it.
“The business of the Minority Leader is to assist the Majority Leader in facilitating the business of the government and if someone does that, it shouldn’t be perceived as selling out to the majority,” the Majority Leader said in Accra as he welcomed the House back from the Christmas recess.
On his part, Mr Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament applauded Mr Iddrisu and his team when the House came back from recess, and resumed proceedings on Tuesday, February 7.
Speaker Bagbin wished the former Minority Leadership well in their endeavours. He said: “The former members of the Minority leadership led by Haruna Iddrisu must be applauded because their record of performance is visible for all to see, and I hope the new leadership will learn from their fountain of wisdom, a trove of wealth and experience.”
“What I can say to the former leadership is, the Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want, and I tell you for sure that the opened doors are better and higher than the closed doors. Look at the open doors and not the closed doors, and with this, I welcome all of you once more,” he said.
The NDC changed its leadership in Parliament on January 24, 2023. Dr Cassiel Ato Forson replaced Mr Iddrisu as Minority Leader. Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle also replaced Mr James Klutse Avedzi as Ketu North MP as Deputy Minority Leader while Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, Minority Chief Whip took over from Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, MP, Asawase MP Muntaka Mubarak.
Meanwhile, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah were the only two members of the Mr Iddrisu-led administration that maintained their positions as First and Second Deputy Whips, respectively.
The House adjourned sine die on Thursday, December 22, 2022, for the legislators to take a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
