Plagiarized inaugural speech won’t be expunged – Majority

President Nana Akufo-Addo’s inaugural speech, which was allegedly riddled with plagiarized sentences from former US presidents will not be expunged from Parliamentary records, the Majority has served notice.

The Minority in Parliament is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the speech and also expunged from Parliamentary records with liberty to resubmit another speech not tainted with “fraud” and reflecting all attributable sources.

A statement signed by the Deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi stated that the plagiarized speech by the President has clearly tarnished the image of Ghana abroad and brought “upon this great nation untold embarrassment never witnessed in the aftermath of a Presidential inauguration.”

“If the NPP Government cannot exhibit competence in writing its own speeches, how can we trust them to have the competence to fulfill their numerous promises to the electorate? If the NPP Government engages in intellectual property theft on its first day in office, how safe are the resources of this country that have been freshly placed in their care?” the statement said.

However, speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic, the MP for Abuakwa South, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, said the Minority’s request will not be granted since an apology has already been given.

“Doesn’t the apology by the President satisfy them? It is the man who made the error who has apologised. What is the point? He has been embarrassed because the communications director failed to peruse the document. The man who has been embarrassed should apologise? I do not think that is the way to go,” he said.