Mahama influenced Bagbin’s nomination as Speaker – Apaak reveals

Builsa South lawmaker Clement Apaak has disclosed that former President John Mahama played a major role in the decision by the NDC caucus in Parliament to nominate Alban Bagbin as Speaker.

It comes on the back of claims by some members of the governing NPP that the new Speaker is independent-minded and will not allow the former President or the NDC to influence his conduct as head of the lawmaking chamber.

“If Akufo-Addo and his NPP liked Bagbin that much and knew all these attributes and qualities of his, why did Akufo-Addo and his NPP not propose him for Speaker? And why did they not ask their MPs elect to vote for him? And why are they unhappy that Prof. Mike Oquaye lost? And why are they fishing out some MPs from their side to punish because they voted for Bagbin? Such opportunistic hypocrites.

“We the NDC proposed our own NDC Bagbin. A decision made by our NDC leader John Dramani Mahama, our NDC Council of Elders, Our NDC NEC and our NDC Parliamentarians elect. We fought for our NDC Bagbin to win, his victory, as the world saw, via a secret ballot,” Apaak wrote in a statement.

He added: “If NPP; Gabby, Awuku, Oppong and co, think pretending to like our NDC Bagbin now that he is Speaker, more than us his NDC party folks, will influence him towards them, they should think again.

“The NPP candidate Prof. Mike Oquaye lost, they should deal with it and stop prostituting themselves before our NDC Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament. He is way too experienced to fall for such fake shenanigans”.