Osei Owusu, Fomena MP to back Bagbin as First, Second deputy speakers
Joseph Osei-Owusu has been elected by both sides of the house as First Deputy Speaker of the 8th parliament. He will be assisted by Andrew Asiamah Amoako as the Second Deputy Speaker in the newly instituted parliament. Joseph Osei-Owusu was nominated by Majority Leader in the 7th Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu and seconded by Minority Leader in the 7th Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu. He is a lawyer and Member of Parliament for Ashanti Bekwai. He was born on 22 January 1962 and had his basic education in his hometown. He was also the first deputy speaker of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic. Andrew Asiamah Amoako is also a lawyer. After losing in the primaries prior to the 2020 general elections, he decided to run as an independent candidate. He had been a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which, citing Article 3(9) of its constitution, revoked his membership and notified the Speaker of Parliament, who duly declared his seat vacant on 13 October 2020 under the provisions of Article 97 (1)g of the Constitution. Meanwhile, he has indicated plans to caucus with the NPP side in the 8th parliament. Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
How Ursula Owusu ended up on Akandoh’s laps in Parliament
Amid the chaotic and reprehensible scenes from Ghana’s Parliament was a very light and funny photo of the MP-elect for Ablekuma West, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful comfortably sitting on the laps on Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, the MP-elect for Juaboso. Draped in a kente outfit, Ursula was relaxing on the laps of Akando with her arms folded comfortably. In a Joy News interview, Akandoh explained how the viral photo came about. “When the NPP MPs came in, they saw that we were on the right side so they went to the left but Ursula refused. Cletus Avoka was sitting down and decided to go to the washroom, by the time he came back Ursula had taken his seat. We tried to persuade her but she declined. She also left the seat and I sat on it. When she came she just sat on my lap. She didn’t say anything to me, she just sat and I didn’t say anything”, he said. The calm posture was a sharp contrast of her posture earlier in the night when she literally fought with Collins Dauda, the MP-elect for Asutifi South. Upon arriving in the chamber, Ursula realized that the NDC MPs have overtaken their right side of the house which was hitherto occupied by the NPP MPs. Ursula insisted on sitting with the NDC MPs despite attempts by the leadership of the NPP to have her sit on the left side. A commotion ensued in the process and Ursula shoved Collin Dauda onto the floor which raised tempers in an already charged chamber. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
NDC, NPP MPs in standoff as soldiers storm Parliament over chaotic voting process
There is total chaos in Ghana’s Parliament leading to the invasion of military personnel in the chamber. This follows a stand-off between the Members of Parliament on both sides of the political divide- the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party, with regard to disagreements over a secret ballot being conducted by the Clerk of Parliament for the selection of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament. The voting process was truncated several times over the deadlock as several efforts by the Marshals of Parliament and the Police to have the process take-off smoothly failed. The NDC Caucus had raised concerns over the sanctity of the process as members of the NPP Caucus displayed their ballots to their leaders before casting them. The voting exercise was for the selection of either Prof. Mike Oquaye or Alban S.K. Bagbin for the Speaker of Parliament position. While the NPP nominated Prof. Oquaye for the position, the NDC proposed Mr. Bagbin to vie for the slot. Article 104 (4) of the 1992 Constitution and Standing Order 9 (1) of Parliament demands that the election of the Speaker shall be done by secret ballot. The confusion started when the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah, barred the NDC MP-elect for Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson from taking part in the election process following an injunction slapped on the legislator. This decision did not go down well with the NDC MPs who accused the Clerk of being bias. They insisted that because the MP-elect had not been served with the injunction documents, the Clerk should have allowed him to take part in the voting process; a request that was turned down after a heated debate. Citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Alban Bagbin sworn in as new Speaker of Parliament
Immediate past Member of Parliament for the Nadowli Kaleo constituency, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has been sworn in as Speaker of Ghana’s 8th Parliament. This comes after he was elected in a keenly contested election between himself and former Speaker, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye. Alban Bagbin, who was the Second Deputy Speaker in the 7th Parliament was nominated by his political party –the National Democratic Congress (NDC)– for the position. In his acceptance speech, Alban Bagbin pledged to discharge his duties wholeheartedly and in service to all Ghanaians. “I will submit myself to the will of this House and pledge to serve my dear country, to serve you and to serve all Ghanaians faithfully to the best of my ability,” he said. He further indicated his readiness to use his experience and skill, acquired within the 28-year period he served in Parliament, to help advance the cause of the lawmaking body. “I will also contentiously discharge my duties as the Speaker of this Parliament. I want to promise wholeheartedly to put to the disposal of this country the store of knowledge, enough experience and the huge data bank that I have accumulated over the 28 years that I have been a member of this House,” Alban Bagbin said. About Alban Bagbin Born on September 24, 1957, at Sombo in the Upper West Region, Mr. Bagbin is a graduate of the University of Ghana (1977-1980) and the Ghana School of Law (1980 -1982). He holds an Executive Masters in Governance and Leadership from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). His parents were Mr. Sansunni Bagbin and Mrs Margaret B. Bagbin who were both peasant farmers. He is the fourth child of nine children of the Margaret Bagbin and the thirteenth of the Bagbin family. Mr. Bagbin is married to Mrs Alice Adjua Yornas Bagbin, the Programme Officer of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) office in Ghana. Education The former Majority Leader started schooling at an early age at the Roman Catholic Primary School, Sombo, did his second cycle education at Wa Secondary School and ended at the Tamale Secondary School, where he earned his Ordinary Level and Advanced Level certificates before entering the University of Ghana in 1977. Working Life His working life experience took him to a number of establishments after school, and this undoubtedly enabled him to garner a lot of experiences that he brings to bear in his current political role. From 1980 to 1982, he worked at the Bureau of Statistics and Statistical Service as the acting Secretary to the Statistical Service Board while between 1982 and 1983; he worked as Personnel Manager of the erstwhile State Hotels Corporation (Ambassador /Continental Hotels) before sojourning to Libya to teach English at the Suk Juma Secondary School, Tripoli. When he returned from Libya in 1986, Mr. Bagbin joined the Akyem Chambers, a firm of legal practitioners, consultants and notaries public, as a partner. Between 1989 and 1992, he was appointed an external solicitor of the Credit Unions Association of Ghana (CUA), Nii Ngleshie family of James Town and a number of private business firms in Accra. From 1993 to date, the Former Majority Leader has been a partner of the Law Trust Company, a firm of legal practitioners, consultants and notaries public. Parliament Bagbin has held a number of positions in Parliament since 1994 and capped his lawmaking career with the ultimate, the Majority Leader and Leader of the House. In the first Parliament of the Fourth Republic, he was made the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy and Member of the Committee on Local Government and Rural Development. From 1995 to date, Mr. Bagbin has been a member of a group known as Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and member of the international Law and Human Rights Programme of the PGA. From 1996 to 2001, he was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Committee on the Restructuring of the Water Sector (Ministry of Works and Housing) while between 1997 and 2001, he was a member of the National Media Commission. In the Second Parliament of the Fourth Republic, Mr. Bagbin was the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs with oversight responsibilities for the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Electoral Commission, National Commission on Civic Education, Office of Parliament and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. He was also the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 2001 to 2005. He was also the Vice Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament. Citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.
Election of Speaker: Carlos Ahenkorah snatches ballot sheets
Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, the Member of Parliament-elect for Tema West snatched some ballot papers during counting. After the counting of votes for Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye was done, the MP-elect snatched the ballot papers from the Clerks-at-table and bolted with it. Prior to the snatching of the ballot papers, the NDC members were singing and jubilating that their Speaker-nominee Alban Bagbin had won the secret ballots. Ahenkora, was chased by Asawase MP-elect Muntaka Mohammed who accosted him and retrieved the ballot papers. The MPs-elect must now elect first and second deputy speakers. Armed military personnel storm Chamber of Parliament amidst chaos over secret voting Earlier, the election of the Leadership of the 8th Parliament degenerated into a full-blown crisis with armed military personnel storming the chamber of Parliament to restore order. In a very dramatic low-point for Ghana’s democracy, the MPs-elect who had argued all night over the secret ballot protocol were visited in the chamber by about two dozen heavily-armed soldiers in addition to a similar number of armed police personnel. The armed to teeth military men clashed with MPs who sang and chanted patriotic songs including the national anthem. The MPs chanted in the face of the military urging them to leave; that the military had no right to order them to sit down. At this stage, the NPP MPs sat down, apparently comfortable with the presence of the police and soldiers. The soldiers had stormed the chamber after yet another chaos broke out over the election of the Speaker of Parliament. While the NPP preferred that their Chief Whips should inspect the ballots by their Members-elect, the NDC, on the other hand, were insistent on secret ballot as enshrined in the Standing Orders. This resulted in the MP for Asawase Muntaka Mubarak snatching a ballot box and throwing it away. Later, the ballot boxes and voting boots were again disassembled by angry MPs. Ghanaweb Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 0555568093.