NDC succeeded in bribing members on our side to vote Bagbin - Kyei-Mensa-Bonsu suggests

Leader of the New Patriotic Party caucus in Parliament Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has disclosed that bribes were paid to some members of the New Patriotic Party to vote against Prof. Mike Ocquaye.

Ghana’s longest-serving Parliamentarian, Alban Sumana Bagbin was announced as the Speaker for the eighth Parliament. This was after there was a melee in Parliament on the voting process.

His win came as a shock to many because a win for the NPP’s nominee shouldn’t have been a problem considering the fact that they have the majority numbers in Parliament.

But speaking on Kumasi-based Angel FM and monitored by MyNewsGh.com, the Suame Member of Parliament said “I heard rumours that the NDC was trying to bribe some of our members to vote against Speaker Oquaye, so I quickly called those whose name was mentioned to speak with them; others too had some unresolved issues with him and had said they would not vote for him. I met all those members in the hotel and spoke at length with them to rescind their decision, but it practically fell on deaf ears”.

He reiterated claims that the voting in Parliament was inconclusive and that the Speakership position was conferred on Alban Sumana Bagbin in order to make way for the President’s investiture.

“It is never true that Bagbin won the votes by 138 votes; at a point, we realised that the NDC Caucus was bent on frustrating the process and thereby delaying the coronation of President Akufo-Addo, so we had to build consensus and give in to their demands to save time”.

“It would have been a disgrace for Ghana if we hadn’t allowed consensus and let the NDC Caucus have its way; a lot of the international dignitaries had to return to their countries so we could not delay the investiture of President Akufo-Addo”.