Speaker swears in NPP's Kwabena Boateng as MP for Ejisu

Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin on Friday swore in Mr Kwabena Boateng, the newly elected New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu, amidst cheering from members of the House.

Mr Boateng was elected during the April 30, 2024, parliamentary by-election, following the demise of the NPP MP of Ejisu and Deputy Finance Minister, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah, on March 7, 2024.

Speaker Bagbin, who admitted the oaths of office and allegiance to Mr Boateng at an emergency sitting of the House, congratulated and formally welcomed him to the House.

The Speaker said: “Honourable Member, you are welcome to the House, and I will give you your tools which you have to hold jealously tight.”

He urged him to master the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and the Standing Orders of the House.

Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, on behalf of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Minority, congratulated and wished Mr Boateng well.

He however, expressed concern that the good people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lipke and Lolobi (SALL) Constituency still did not have a representative in Parliament for almost four years.

He said, this, he believed, was something that the House must take steps to resolve as soon as possible.

Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, on behalf of the NPP Parliamentary Majority extended his heartfelt congratulations to Mr Boateng on his humble victory in the Ejisu Parliamentary bye-election.

He said: “The people of Ejisu have spoken and have chosen a leader who embodied the values and aspirations of their community. Mr Boateng’s dedication to public service, his commitment to the well-being of his constituents and his tireless work on behalf of the New Patriotic Party has earned him the trust and support of the people he now represents.”

The Majority Leader informed Mr Boateng that if he were to become an effective advocate on the floor of the House, it would materially depend on how he would give attention to the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the House.

In a reaction to the lack of representation in the House for the people of the SALL, Mr Afenyo-Markin said it was a matter of creating a constituency for representation, which was in the bosom of the Electoral Commission (EC).

He said in this Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, no constituency had been denied representation at the time of the 2020 election.