“I do not expect Mr. Speaker to go against the national interest in order to satisfy, say, a JM agenda. And, he can be his own man. I am inclined to believe him when he says he will serve the nation with honesty,” Mr. Otchere-Darko said, as quoted by Citinewsroom.
“Serving the nation also means helping the party elected to implement the manifesto platform upon which it campaigned and got given the mandate of the people.
“The NPP remains the Majority in Parliament to drive the agenda of the Executive and requires the full, professional cooperation of the Speaker.” Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
Alban Bagbin, who is a stalwart of the NDC, was historically elected the Speaker of the 8th Parliament on Thursday, January 7, 2021. Mr. Bagbin beat off competition from the ruling New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) nominee, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye. MP for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George, Pulse Ghana This is the first time in Ghana’s history that a candidate from the opposition party has been elected Speaker of Parliament.
“If we wanted to hold the President to ransom, the Speaker would not have been allowed to appear for the President’s swearing-in ceremony,” Sam George told Accra-based Citi FM.
“We would have just asked the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei Owusu to replace him. We are not that kind of party.
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President Akufo-Addo has congratulated the former Member of Parliament for Nadowli Kaleo, Alban Sumana Bagbin on his nomination and subsequent swearing-in as the Speaker of Parliament of the Eighth Parliament of the Republic of Ghana.
He also pledged his readiness to work with him in the advancement of Ghana’s development, saying “I want to assure you of my wholehearted determination to work with you to advance the peace, progress and prosperity of the Ghanaian people.”
President Akufo-Addo in a Facebook post on Thursday, January 7, 2021, praised Mr Bagbin for his dedicated service to the cause of Ghana.
“I must, at the outset, express my warm congratulations to my good friend and colleague of many years in this House, the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, on his assumption of office as the Speaker of the Eighth Parliament of the 4th Republic. Nearly three decades of devoted service to Parliament by you has culminated in this moment, which has seen your elevatio
Ghana-Press-Review January 07, 2021 to 11:12 409 APA – Accra (Ghana) The use of armed soldiers and policemen to restore calm in the Chamber of Parliament following the continued failure of the members-elect to elect the Speaker for the Eighth Parliament and the swearing-in today of the President-elect, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and Vice-President-elect, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, on the precincts of Parliament House dominate the headlines of Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that armed soldiers on Thursday stormed the Chamber of Parliament following the continued failure of the Members of Parliament-elect to elect the Speaker for the Eighth Parliament.
The soldiers, numbering about 20, emerged in the Chamber together with armed policemen ostensibly to restore calm in the Chamber.