Alban Bagbin lauded for instilling discipline in Parliament

Some National Democratic Congress (NDC) aficionados are praising the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for firmly holding in place a regime of discipline in the august House.

In a statement, the group says by his leadership, the Speaker is spearheading critically needed accountability from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government headed by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

“In these times of impunity and arrogance, it is heartwarming that we have a Speaker who exercises the courage to hold the feet of government to the fire of accountability,” their statement said.

The group is led by Mrs. Rita D. Langa, an educationist and an activist of the opposition party in Tema.

Other members of the group are Mr. Daniel A. Tetteh, a musician and a maritime practitioner and Mrs. Grace N. Tsotsoo, a business-woman of Greater Accra NDC.

Their statement comes in the wake of firm measures that the Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin took to clip what is seen by many as deliberate efforts by the Akufo-Addo government to elude accountability over COVID-19 spending.

For the umpteenth time, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, had on June 17th failed to appear in Parliament to give proper accounts of what the government spent on COVID-19.

This was because the Minority had demanded that the Minister appears to account after voice clips had emerged of an NPP Parliamentary Candidate for Sagnarigu in 2020, Felicia Tettey, revealing that the COVID-19 money was shared among party leaders and that she got Ghc100,000.

It has since also allegedly emerged that the Akufo-Addo Jubilee House hauled a whopping Gh265, 000 to be shared among NPP Party leaders in the Binduri constituency.

In response to Ken Ofori-Atta’s delay tactics, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin declared that Parliament would not entertain the laying of any processes before Parliament by the Finance Ministry until Ofori-Atta turned up to account.

“This kind of flex of Parliament’s authority is almost unheard of in the whole of the Fourth Republic and we want to say ayekoo to the Rt. Hon. Speaker for doing so.

"For once, the Ghanaian people can feel trusty that our Parliament is not a rubber stamp,” the statement signed by Mrs. Rita D. Langa added.

It also praised Speaker Bagbin for, “standing up to the executive and Judiciary on behalf of Parliament when there have been bullying moves from them, ensuring discipline among MPs and ensuring the stability of the current Parliament which is hung.”

The statement also urged Parliament as a whole, to, “put aside any political inclinations and help the Speaker ensure that COVID-19 funds are truly accounted for,” adding that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta’s claim that the government spent Ghc12billion on COVID-19 “makes no sense when President Akufo-Addo has in the past said the same government has spent Ghc17.7billion.”