Haruna speaks on replacement of Ablakwa on Appointments Committee

Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu has said the Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has not written to him on the replacement of North Tongu lawmaker, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the Appointments Committee of Parliament.

Therefore, he said, he cannot give an update on moves to replace the former Deputy Minister of Education, as parliament resumes on Tuesday, May 25.

It is recalled that before Parliament went on recess, the NDC’s side was hit with division especially after all the ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo were approved by the Appointments Committee of Parliament in spite of the concerns raised against some of the nominees by some leading members of the party.

The situation led to the resignation of Mr Ablakwa from the Appointments Committee on Wednesday, March 31.

Mr Ablakwa said in a letter addressed to the Speaker, Alban Kingsford Bagbin that the decision was taken, “after days of careful reflection and thoughtful consideration.

“I shall like to state that the reasons for this difficult decision are both personal and on principle.”

Asked whether there has been a replacement for Mr Ablakwa on the committee, Mr Iddrisu who is also Member of Parliament for Tamale South told TV3’s Evelyn Tengmaa in an interview on Monday, May 24 that “The speaker has not written back to me so I would only act after I have received formal or official correspondence from the Office of the Speaker on the matter and the caucus will make a determination out of it.”

Asked again whether the Minority has resolved all the issues that knocked them before Parliament went on break, he said that all the issues have been resolved.

“What I do know is a united minority caucus that is focused and determined to hold the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government accountable. There is increasing hardship in the country, affecting ordinary Ghanaians, there is increasing cases of corruption and abuse of office that is superintended by the Office of the president.

“There are still some major legislative gaps. I sincerely believe that Ghana should pass a new law on criminalizing unexplained wealth as part of our collective quest to deal with white-collar criminality, graft and economic crime.

“So don’t worry about us, we are very united. The party and the minority leadership and its council of elders have discussed those matters thoroughly and we are guided by their wisdom and we are guided by what they want us to do.

“We will not let the country down, we will hold government accountable, that is what is expected of us.

“I do not think that the matter of approval of ministers should be the sole yardstick for measuring the performance of the minority leader.”