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Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has called on the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to reflect on how his actions may affect his legacy and to act quickly to address the existing parliamentary stalemate.
In a discussion with Asempa FM, Kufuor stated that the duty to resolve this impasse lies with Bagbin, who possesses both the power and the responsibility to bring order back to Parliament.
He urged Bagbin to consider how his legacy could be impacted if the 8th Parliament of the Fourth Republic does not end in the usual way.
“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,” Kufuor stated.
He added, “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.”
Since October, Parliament has experienced turmoil after the Speaker announced four seats were vacant, resulting in heightened tensions within the House.
When Parliament resumed on 7 November 2024, Bagbin had to halt proceedings indefinitely because Members of Parliament from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were not present.
Bagbin clarified that the House did not meet the quorum needed for decision-making due to insufficient MPs being present. Furthermore, there was no agenda as the Business Committee of Parliament had not met to establish one, due to the absence of the NPP MPs who initially sought the session.
Expressing his frustration, Bagbin noted, “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.” He added that there was no order paper for the session since the Business Committee could not meet, resulting in an absence of agreed-upon business to address.
“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,” Bagbin continued. “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.”
NKONKONSA.com
