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General News of Wednesday, 27 September 2017

Source: ghanacrusader.com

Alban Bagbin’s comment on mentoring Akufo-Addo senseless – Majority Leader

Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and Alban Bagbin Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu and Alban Bagbin

The Majority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has strongly refuted claims by the second Deputy Speaker of Parliament that he mentored President Nana Akufo-Addo during his days Parliament hence if he had become president he can also be president of Ghana.

According to the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, the fact that Nana Akufo-Addo was a ranking member on the committee Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin chaired and the former has become president does not necessarily suggest the NDC longest serving Member of Parliament can also become a president.

The Nadowli West lawmaker Alban Sumani Bagbin over the weekend declared his intention to contest for NDC’s flag bearer when the nomination is opened.

Justifying why he is best placed to lead the NDC in 2020 election, he said when the current president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the immediate past president John Mahama all passed through his hands for tutelage at various stages in parliament and therefore if they have been able to be presidents of the country, he is more than qualified to also be the president of Ghana.

However, speaking on Oman FM’s National Agenda Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu disputed Hon. Bagbin’s argument saying his conclusion is unjustifiable and unreasonable.

He indicated that Bagbin should bear in mind that he was made the chairman of the parliamentary select Committee on Constitutional and Legislative Affairs based on parliamentary procedures and not because he was better than Nana Akufo-Addo.”

“Parliament of Ghana has laid down rules. And one of the rules is that in all the committees it is only the Public Accounts Committee that is chaired by the Minority side. So if Bagbin became the chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee it was because of the fact that his party was in power and it does not mean that he was knowledgeable than Nana Addo.

“If Ghanaians will recall Hon. James Klutse Avedzi was the chairman of Finance Committee in parliament when NDC was in power but today because his party lost the elections he is now the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. Apart from him all other committee chairman’s are members of the Majority,” he said.
According to the Majority leader, though is an undebatable fact that Alban Bagbin is an experienced politician and so is qualified to contest for NDC’s presidential primaries, he believes his colleague has an arduous task to realize his ambition.

He added that Alban Sumana Bagbin to former president John Dramani Mahama who is likely to stage a comeback to the presidential race in 2020, Kyei Mensah Bonsu argued that the former Ghanaian leader is more experienced than Bagbin, irrespective of being the longest-serving legislator.