Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has urged the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to be mindful of his legacy and take immediate steps to address the impasse the House is currently experiencing.
Speaking in an Asempa FM interview, Kufuor noted that the solution to the stand-off lies in the bosom of Alban Bagbin, as he has the power and legitimacy to make an order that will restore sanity to the house.
He appealed to Alban Bagbin to consider what could become of his legacy should the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic end without properly rising, as has become customary.
“I will plead with the Speaker that the solution lies in his bosom. He is an accomplished man on a powerful seat, and he is the third most powerful person in the country. The 8th Parliament has two months to rise, and every Parliament has a life.
“He has been a great servant, so he should be concerned that in the last few days of his reign, the house is in disarray. It is his own record that is being destroyed. Before every Parliament rises, there are certain things which ought to be done to ensure smooth transition and operation of government. So if they can’t sit and handle these nice and important things, then it’s unfortunate,” he said.
The Parliament of Ghana has been in turmoil since October when the Speaker declared some four seats in the House vacant.
The House reconvened on November 7, 2024, but the Speaker was compelled to suspend the house indefinitely again following the absence of MPs on the side of the New Patriotic Party.
The Speaker explained that he had to suspend the meeting indefinitely because the House did not have the numbers to make decisions.
He also said that there was no business before the House for consideration because the Business Committee of Parliament did not meet to present one to the plenary.
Bagbin expressed his frustration about the absence of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament because he summoned the House upon the request of the leadership of the MPs.
“Unfortunately, the signatories who made the request have not shown up, and therefore matters that they wanted us to handle, which are admitted for the consideration of the Business Committee, are not on the order paper.
“And in fact, there’s no order paper for today because the Business Committee could not meet due to the absence of the people who requested the recall. And as you can see, one side of the House is completely empty,” he said.
He added, “In view of this, we have as usual got a quorum to sit, but we have no business before us to transact because the Business Committee, as you know, prepares a report, and this report is adopted by the House as business agreed by the House to transact during the course of the week. In the absence of that, there is no other authority that can put business before you, which you have not adopted to transact. In view of the failure of the Business Committee to sit, as a result of the refusal of those who requested the recall to show up, we are compelled to once again adjourn the sitting of the House.”
