The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu Constituency on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has resigned from the Appointments Committee of Parliament.
Mr Ablakwa, one of Ghana’s experienced MPs, announced his resignation in a letter dated March 30, 2021, and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
In the letter, he indicated that his decision to resign came “after days of careful reflection and thoughtful considerations.”
It remains unclear why he has taken such a decision.
However, the Minority NDC side on the Committee has been accused of betrayal and working against the interest of the NDC as far as approving some of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s ministers nominees is concerned.
The approval of Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister, Hawa Koomson; Food and Agriculture Minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto; Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, and finally Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has not gone down well with some top members of the NDC.
NDC’s Communications Director, Sammy Gyamfi; former Tourism Minister and Ambassador of Ghana to the Czech Republic, Zita; as well former NDC MP, Ras Mubarak, have all accused their MPs on the Appointments Committee of betraying NDC.
“I shall like to state that the reasons for this difficult decision is both personal and on principle,” Mr Ablakwa said.
Mr Ablakwa served as a Deputy Minister under former President John Mahama.
Due to his resignation, he will not avail himself for the vetting of Mr. Akufo-Addo’s nominees for Deputy ministerial positions.
“May I extend to you leadership of the House, the Committee of Selection and the leadership of the great National Democratic Congress (NDC), my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a member of the 6th, 7th and 8th Parliaments of the Republic of Ghana,” his letter said.
Mr Akufo-Addo is serving his second and final term of office and the Ministers have been approved in a Parliament where both the NPP and NDC have 137 MPs each.
The Speaker of the hung Parliament, Mr Bagbin is a former NDC MP.
Some members of the party are at a lost as to why some of their MPs voted to approve the above-mentioned ministers against the wishes of their party.
“And we, must not let them succeed in their parochial quest to destroy the NDC, the party that has done so much for them and all of us. The shame they have brought on the party will forever hang like an albatross around their necks,” Mr Gyamfi noted in an article posted on his Facebook page on March 4, 2021.
“These are hard times for all of us but we should not let the betrayal of a few quench our love for the great NDC. Rather, let it strengthen us to fight for this party. We all have an equal stake in this party. They are few, we are many. Some have sold their conscience but ours is intact. And we, can work together to rebuild the party from the ashes of 3rd March, 2021, which I call “Black Wednesday”- Our day of self-inflicted shame”, he added.
He went on to call for a change in the leadership of the NDC’s Parliamentary group, claiming that its current leadership has “lost their moral authority to lead and are not fit to sit on the front bench of the NDC side of the house.”
“More importantly, it’s about time we understood, that we don’t have any NDC Speaker of Parliament. No we don’t! We have a Speaker who rode on the back of the NDC into Office to pursue his own parochial agenda and nothing more. You trust them, at your own peril,” according to Mr. Gyamfi.
