Parliament of Ghana
Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah has indicated that the currently Minority in Ghana’s Parliament is the weakest in the Fourth Republic.
He noted that although the current minority is the biggest in the Fourth Republic in terms of the number they have, they are also the weakest.
“The Current Minority in Parliament is the Biggest and yet the Weakest Minority the history of the Fourth Republic,” Mr Braimah said in a tweet.
His comments come at a time the opposition lawmakers have been hit by division after the approval of all ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
This situation led to the resignation of North Tongu MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
Mr Ablakwa resigned from the Committee on Wednesday March 31.
He said in a letter addressed to the Speaker, Alban Kingsford Bagbin that the decision was taken “after days of careful reflection and thoughtful considerations”.
“I shall like to state that the reasons for this difficult decision are both personal and on principle.”
The Volta Regional branch of the NDC endorsed the resignation saying it resonated with them.
The Volta NDC in a statement signed by its secretary James Gunu said “The landmark decision has resonated with the party’s grassroots and the overwhelming majority of NDC members in the region and beyond.
“The reaction from neutrals and objective political analysts have been heartwarming and gives us hope about the prospects of Ghana’s democracy.”
The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi also indicated that the party was betrayed by the Speaker of Parliament Mr Alban Bagbin Bagbin and the leadership of the NDC caucus in the House.
Sammy Gyamfi said Mr Bagbin, the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu and Member of Parliament for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed “the collective good for their selfish interest.”
In a Facebook post, Mr Gyamfi said “Comrades, the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, the leadership of our Parliamentary group, particularly Hon. Haruna Iddrisu and Hon. Muntaka Mubarak, and dozens of our own MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC to regain power.
“They brazenly defied the leadership of the party and betrayed the collective good for their selfish interest. And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks.
“These are hard times for all of us but we should not let the betrayal of a few quench our love for the great NDC. Rather, let it strengthen us to fight for this party. We all have an equal stake in this party. They are few, we are many. Some have sold their conscience but ours is intact. And we, can work together to rebuild the party from the ashes of 3rd March, 2021, which I call “Black Wednesday ”- Our day of self-inflicted shame.
“This is the time for us to insist on the right changes in the leadership of the NDC group in Parliament or forget about them completely. The current leadership have lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house. More importantly, it’s about time we understood, that we don’t have any NDC Speaker of Parliament. No we don’t! We have a Speaker who rode on the back of the NDC into Office to pursue his own parochial agenda and nothing more. You trust them, at your own peril.
“The hypocrites can choose to remain quiet or even condemn us for speaking up, so they can remain in the good books of the renegades. But I and all who are pained by this act of betrayal will not keep quiet, because we don’t fear anyone and don’t wish to be in their good books. If they can defy the party leadership and interest openly and subject all of us to public ridicule, then they can and must also be called out openly. The NDC party is supreme and it must be cleansed.
“Speak up, we can and must! And let nobody stand in our way. But, when all is said and done, let’s work for the NDC with all our might and strength. Quench not your love for the party. Hope must not die. This storm shall pass. The NDC will survive and shall bounce back stronger for victory. So I say to you, be strong!”
Mr Bagbin replied Sammy Gyamfi saying he is a Speaker of Ghana and not of a political party.
Mr Bagbin said: “Recently in the media, on social media, in particular, you have heard the blistering attack on me when I did not play any role apart from presiding [over the business of the house]”.
“Because I say I belong or came from a party, does he [Sammy Gyamfi] think I’m at the beck and call of the party?” he added.
“Now, I don’t belong to any party. I’m Speaker of Ghana. I’m not a Speaker of NPP. I’m not a Speaker of NDC. I’m Speaker of Ghana. And I must hold the balance. So, decision-taking; no. My duty is to ensure that there’s an even playing field and the decision is taken and I announce it. That is all.
“And, so, if you sit down and look at me and think that maybe you were my girlfriend before [and, therefore] I should give you an advantage over another who I’ve never met, please, then don’t come to me; you won’t get it. Let’s finish; after work, we can do that business together. Not when I’m working. That’s my nature; that’s how I’ve been up to this time and, so, it’s unfortunate that these things are happening.”
Below is the tweet from Sulemana Braimah:
The Current Minority in Parliament is the Biggest and yet the Weakest Minority the history of the Fourth Republic
— Sulemana Braimah (@sulemana) June 7, 2021