The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, is trending on X following the freezing of the approval of newly-vetted ministers appointed by the president.
On March 20, the Speaker announced that the House would not approve the new ministerial appointees, citing the need to uphold the rule of law.
Bagbin's decision came after a directive from the presidency, which issued a cease-and-desist letter to parliament, restraining the House from forwarding the bill on Human Sexual Rights and Family Values for the president's assent, pending determination by the Supreme Court.
Following this development, there has been a flurry of reactions.
Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, said he believes that the Speaker of Parliament was misled or misinformed, leading to his decision to halt the approval of the ministerial nominees until after the Supreme Court has finished with the cases against the anti-gay bill.
In addition to the above, X users have taken turns to share their opinions on this development, pushing the subject on the Speaker to the top of X trends.
Clement Apaak remarked, "Stop blaming Rt. Hon. Speaker Bagbin and the NDC minority caucus; the majority caucus has fallen on its own dagger."
Similarly, @babamusah08 stated, "Thanks to Speaker Hon Alban S.K. Bagbin for stamping his authority and not bowing to the whims and caprices of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Ghana is not Nana Addo’s personal property. Our democracy cannot be sacrificed on the altar of Akufo Addo’s egos."
Below are some of the tweets:
Thanks to Speaker Hon Alban S.K. Bagbin for stamping his authority and not bowing to the whims and caprices of the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Ghana is not Nana Addo’s personal property. Our democracy cannot be sacrificed on the altar of Akufo Addo’s egos. #citicbs pic.twitter.com/ENpFKKFjFT
— Baba Musah, PhD, PE (@babamusah08) March 22, 2024
STOP BLAMING RT. HON. SPEAKER BAGBIN AND THE NDC MINORITY CAUCUS; MAJORITY CAUCUS HAS FALLEN ON ITS OWN DAGGER. pic.twitter.com/0boinyfWkB
— Dr. Clement Abas Apaak (@DrApaak) March 21, 2024
‘This is the precedent set by the President, we shall all follow it’ Speaker Alban Bagbin !
— Joyce Bawah Mogtari (@joyce_bawah) March 20, 2024
It annoys me when the NPP think all Ghanaians think like them . We all are gullible like their supporters. Speaker Bagbin is whipping them with their own stup!d!ty pic.twitter.com/MoYOGskKp3
— NanaYaa Prempeh (@PrempehNanayaa) March 21, 2024
Speaker Bagbin has clearly shown how “you do me, I do you” means.????
— KOJO DYNAMIC ???? (@AnnanPerry) March 20, 2024
Speaker Bagbin stands up to Akufo-Addo and effectively tells him to 'get lost' with his list of Ministerial nominees over the lawless "cease and desist" order he caused to be issued by Asante Bediatuo to Parliament. Showdown!
— Felix Kwakye Ofosu (@FelixKwakyeOfo1) March 20, 2024
So where is the council of state in all of this? President Akufo-Addo and Speaker Bagbin both flexing their muscles and the Ghanaian people are going to suffer
— Austine Woode (@obiMpenaAustine) March 20, 2024