Speaker of Parliament for the 8th Republic, RT. Hon. Alban Kingsford Bagbin has advised Ghanaians to feel free to criticize parliament when the need arises but has entreated the public to ensure they understand the issues at hand before throwing shots at legislators.
Mr. Bagbin made this statement during a thanksgiving mass in his hometown Sombo in the Upper West Region to commemorate his election as the Speaker.
“Criticism is good… so feel free to criticise when the need arises but do so by first seeking to understand the issues at stake and the developments in relation to them,” he said.
It could be recalled that that the former Nadowli Kaleo MP beat off competition from NPP nominee, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye after flipping three votes from the NPP Caucus. Making it the first time in Ghana’s history that a candidate from the opposition party has been elected Speaker of Parliament.
He pledged to ensure that Parliament under his leadership will never shirk its responsibilities and will always strive to find solutions to the problems of Ghanaians.
Mr. Bagbin also noted that Parliament aims to tackle issues of inequality, ethnicity, unemployment, debt overhang, deprivation, instability within the sub-region, global problems of isolationism, civil strife, discrimination and migration.
“It comes with a huge responsibility – a responsibility to maintain the checks and balances of the executive and the legislature, a responsibility to hold the government accountable for its decisions and to maintain the balance between political party interest and that of the national interest,” the Speaker added.
Accompanying him to his hometown were Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and other bigwigs in Parliament.
Mr. Bagbin, who is a stalwart of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), was sworn in as Speaker of the 8th Parliament on Thursday, January 7, 2021.
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Joseph Asare
