Executive Won’t Bully Parliament Under My Watch – Bagbin Vows

Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has vowed that Parliament will not be bullied by the Executive under his watch.

He made the comment on Friday after attempts by the government to use the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta to delay the vote on the 2022 budget was rejected through a vote by a one-sided House.

“Hon. Members early in the days after my election as Speaker, I did pledge to the good people of this country through you that I will do everything in my power not to obstruct government business. I did so expecting reciprocity. That government will also do everything not to also frustrate or obstruct the business of Parliament. As your Speaker, I will do all I can not allow the government to obstruct or frustrate Parliament in its lawful duty. That is a pledge to the good people of Ghana,” Bagbin pledged.

The Speaker has recently come under serious personal attacks from members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) following the controversial session he presided over that saw the legislature reject the 2022 budget prepared by the government.

The NPP Majority in Parliament had walked out of the House after a disagreement following the Speaker’s order of non-MPs smuggled into the chamber to impersonate absent NPP parliamentarians and vote in favour of the contentious budget.

The vote which was to determine whether a request by the Finance Minister for Parliament to give him time to consult with the leadership of the house on aspects of the budget before the approval vote is held, was eventually cast by only the Minority because the Majority had staged the walkout. 

Consequently, the 137 Minority MPs rejected the prayer by the Finance Minister and then went on to reject the 2022 budget as presented by Ofori-Atta.

Addressing the Majority Group’s whine, Bagbin said, “There is a good reason why the good people of Ghana elected this Parliament to be a hung parliament. Those who pretend to say near hung, it is a hung Parliament of 137 – 137. There is no majority party in this house. I want to repeat it, there is no majority party in this house,” he added.

The Majority Group has since accused the Speaker of bias and supposedly presiding over an unconstitutional vote by the Minority side.