Being considered as second deputy speaker came as a shock - Fomena MP

The Member of Parliament for Fomena Constituency, Andrew Asiamah Amoako has reacted to his election as the second deputy speaker of Ghana’s 8th Parliament.

Asiamah Amoako was nominated for the position by the Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mohammed on January 7th, 2021 following the election of a new speaker, Rt Hon. Alban Bagbin.

But in an interaction with GhanaWeb following his swearing-in and that of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Dr Bawumia, the Fomena MP expressed he was very much still in awe of his nomination and election.

“I entered the Chamber of Parliament with the view that I was going to be sworn in as an ordinary Member of Parliament only for me to be met with shock that I was going to be considered as the second deputy speaker of the Parliament. It was shock and I never thought of it…It really came to me as surprise,” he pointed.

The Fomena MP added that he viewed his appointment for Deputy Speaker of Parliament as a divine act of God.

While serving as an incumbent during the 7th Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako broke away from the governing ruling New Patriotic Party to go Independent after he was prevented from contesting in the party’s parliamentary primaries.

The seat for the Fomena constituency was then declared vacant by the 7th Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye following that decision.

Following that, Andrew Asiamah Amoako went on to emerge the winner in December 2020 parliamentary elections beating his main contender with over 2,000 votes.

Alban Bagbin elected as Speaker of 8th Parliament

In the early hours of January 7th 2021, Alban Bagbin was elected by the House to serve as the Speaker of Parliament.

His nomination was earlier announced by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) after the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) also nominated Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye to serve as speaker.

Polling 138 votes, Alban Bagbin won against his predecessor Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye who had 136 votes with one legislator said to have failed to participate in the vote.

The vote which was marred with some controversy and confusion on the floor of Parliament was settled when the Clerk of Parliament declared that Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin was elected as Speaker of Ghana's 8th Parliament for the next four years.

While Alban Bagbin's election has been welcomed by most, some have suggested that he may have reached some sort of agreement with the opposition NDC hence his nomination prior to the vote in Parliament on January 7th, 2021.