A member of the Communications Team of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Osei Hweree Bempah, has described Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin as the worst Speaker of Parliament Ghana has had in the Fourth Republic.
According to him, the Speaker has increasingly become intolerant and lacks objectivity in the discharge of his duties.
His comment comes after Speaker Alban Bagbin on Monday, July 22, 2024, expelled MP for Sefwi Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, from the chamber over what the Speaker perceived as a rude comment when the House was discussing the nomination of two persons to the Supreme Court as justices by President Akufo-Addo.
While reading the communication from the Presidency, the Speaker advised the House to decide on the required number of Justices the country would need. The Former Nadowli-Kaleo MP also suggested that the House consider legislation to place a cap on the number.
However, this advice was challenged by the Sefwi Wiawso MP, who described the action by the Speaker as prejudicial. This infuriated the Speaker, who consequently deployed the Marshalls to escort the MP out of the chamber for his rudeness.
Commenting further on the issue on Ghana Kasa show on Kasapa 102.5FM/Agoo TV Tuesday, Kwame Osei Hweree Bempah criticized the Speaker for losing his sense of objectivity and urged him to be more accommodating.
“I sometimes don’t understand Bagbin. I think his andropause level has shot up too high after becoming the Speaker of Parliament. He has become unpredictable. I used to admire him a lot from his days as Minority Leader and Majority Leader. He was very objective. But after becoming the Speaker in 2021, he has probably become power-drunk. He’s acting like he got the Speaker position by chance. It appears he does not trust himself, so he wants to exert himself as the Speaker. At one point, he declared himself as the second most powerful person after the President.
He continued: “Is Bagbin a demigod? We have seen past speakers, such as the late D.F. Annan and Peter Ala Adjetey, who were very objective. We saw instances where Bagbin, then MP for Nadowli, had heated exchanges with Speakers on the floor of Parliament. He has been a very good Parliamentarian but the worst Speaker of Parliament. He is the worst we’ve had in the Fourth Republic based on his demeanor. Because he’s been the longest-serving MP, he has forgotten that he is not supposed to participate in debates on the floor of the House. He sometimes feels like he’s still an MP.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com
