The Media Relations Department of Parliament has said a light-hearted comment about the Chief of Staff, when she was introduced by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin during the State of the Nation Address by His Excellency President Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, in Parliament has been taken out of context.
According to a press release issued by the Department, the statement purportedly made by the Speaker in reference to the Chief of staff as “the beacon of hope and support for Ghanaians from all walks of life” is not an endorsement.
The release emphasized that while the competence of the Chief of Staff is not in doubt, those words were not endorsement by the Speaker.
“It is important to note that her introduction by the Speaker as part of acknowledgment of her presence was not for any political endorsement, as some publications in the media have attempted to do” it stated.
The release also pointed out the inaccuracy in another publication that accused the Speaker of partisanship and called him out to shed his political colours, as he was virtually blamed for a supposed absence of the Minority from the Chamber at the beginning of the day’s sitting.
“It must be noted emphatically that, at the time the Rt. Hon Speaker, the President, and the entourage entered the Chamber, almost all Members and Ministers were already seated in the Chamber. At any rate, walkouts and boycotts are Parliamentary tools used by members in the world legislatures for negotiation and parliamentary processes” the release added.
The statement indicated that when such parliamentary tools are employed, they are resolved through dialogues, thus, exactly what played out on that occasion.
“It must also be noted that, this was not the first time that Members used such a momentous occasion to press home grievances. To make capital, impugn political motives, and place the blame on the doorstep of the Speaker is most unfortunate and a desperate attempt to dispute the sterling record of his leadership of Parliament.
The President delivered his last but one Message on the State of the Nation to Parliament in fulfillment of Article 67 of the 1992 Constitution, which provides that “the President shall, at the beginning of each session of Parliament, and before a dissolution, deliver to Parliament a message on the state of the nation.”
This was done with the usual protocol, pomp, and pageantry. And, this being an election year, the stakes were high and signs of an event-filled day were obvious at the very beginning of the day.
A planned boycott by some Members of the House posed a threat of disrupting the address. Thankfully, this was averted when the Speaker, President, and the Flagbearer of the NDC prevailed on the MPs to present themselves for this constitutionally mandated duty.
In attendance, were the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and his wife Samira Bawumia, Alice Adjua Yornas, wife of the Speaker, the Chief Justice Gertrude Torkonoo, former President John Dramani Mahama, former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the Chief of Staff Hon. Frema Osei Opare, Members of the Council of State, Members of the National House of Chiefs, the Diplomatic Corps, and the Clergy among others.