Parliamentarians on the Majority side in Parliament have criticized the treatment of Haruna Iddrisu, a former minority leader and the current representative for Tamale South Constituency.
On February 7, 2023, the MPs from Sissala East Constituency, under the leadership of Amidu Chinnia, addressed the media in Parliament that it was wrong way the previous Minority Leader was being treated.
They cited two important concerns to support their worries. The first was his exclusion from seven House committees and efforts to have him removed from his current position as a result of his loss of leadership.
“Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, by virtue of his removal he has been removed from several committees of which he was serving. Appointments, Business, Inter Parliamentary Union, Standing Orders Committees among others,” the group spokesman lamented.
He added that the issue of attempts to remove him from his office amounted to “a case of humiliation to the MPs and their constituents,” referring to Haruna and his chief whip, Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak.
The MP also slammed the National Democratic Congress, accusing the party for betraying two major voter blocs of the party, the northern regions and the Zongos (Muslim dominated areas) by virtue of removing Haruna and Muntaka.
“The five northern regions at least should have been represented, the Zongo communities in Ghana which contributes significantly to the votes of the NDC should have been represented. These changes took away Haruna Iddrisu from the North, it took away Muntaka, a Zongo man.
“Zongo representation and northern leadership has been taken away and which is a complete disrespect,” he stressed.
Haruna was replaced by Cassiel Ato Forson whiles Kwame Governs Agbodza took over from Muntaka, the other change saw deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi replaced with Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.
During the Thursday, February 9, 2023 session of Parliament, Tamale South representative Haruna Iddrisu sat in two different locations.
It is his decision to sit with the Majority Caucus at a point, however, that has attracted lots of media coverage and controversy within the circles of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), both in Parliament and outside.
Finding Haruna a befitting spot in parliament
Haruna, having been removed as Minority Leader in late February 2023 lost his seat in the front benches and had to be assigned a new spot.
It turns out that the party had deliberations on how to get him a place befitting his status as a former Minority Leader.
According to a Joy News report, he was supposed to take a seat reserved for one of the longest serving members of the House, Collins Dauda (Asutifi South MP) who occupies a front seat along with veteran Cletus Avoka.
When Haruna arrived in the chamber for the day’s proceedings, he took the seat of Rashid Pelpuo (Wa Central MP) even though his name had been placed at the spot of Collins Dauda. Reports say Dauda had also rejected the decision to relocate him.
When it was Haruna’s turn to contribute to a debate, he was found seated at the Majority side, specifically at the place of first deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu (Joewise) who was presiding at the time.
Haruna explains why he took Joewise’s seat
“Mr Speaker, forgive me that I have to assume your chair, there was [sic] whether I should take over from Collins Dauda or yours and I have told them that honourable Collins Dauda is senior by age and a senior even to this house.
“So, I will not fit into his chair as somebody who is well-trained from home. So, any other chair Mr speaker acceptable to me, I am still the elected member of parliament for Tamale south,” he said in the chamber on February 9 after he made a contribution.
On social media and among the Caucus members, there is apparent disquiet at his move.
“It appears some persons within the Minority are not too pleased with what happened on the floor today, indeed a source tells me that prior to today’s sitting, the controversy surrounding whether or not Haruna Iddrisu should take Collins Dauda’s seat had been resolved.
“And now, Haruna Iddrisu is expected to take the seat of Rashid Pelpuo where he actually sat today when he came to the floor before heading to sit at the first deputy Speaker’s chair,” Joy News’ parliamentary correspondent Kwaku Asante disclosed.
Leadership reshuffle and seating rearrangement
In line with the NDC’s reshuffle in the minority leadership, some MPs including the former leaders have seen some changes in their sitting positions.
Per the seating arrangement in parliament, the leaders are usually seated on the first row in the chamber and ranking members sit in the row after that.
The other two seats in the front row are usually reserved for the senior most parliamentarians.
Before the reshuffle, Cletus Avoka and Collins Dauda who are the two longest-serving members of parliament occupied these seats.
However, due to the reshuffle, Collins Dauda, MP for Asutifi South has been removed for Haruna Iddrisu to occupy the seat.
Haruna Iddrisu has, however, refused to sit on Collins Dauda’s seat.
Former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu claims he cannot accept the new seat in Parliament allotted to him since it belongs to Collins Dauda, his senior.
Since he was removed as leader, his seat in the House has been taken over by his successor, Dr Ato Forson.
Haruna Iddrisu was asked to take over the seat of the MP for Asutifi South, Collins Dauda, but he has refused.
Commenting on the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the ratification of the Niamey Convention, the former Minority Leader who had gone to sit at the Majority side of the House and on the seat of the 1st Deputy Speaker said, “Forgive me that I have to assume your chair.
“There was [an issue] of whether I should take over from Collins Dauda or not and I have told them that Collins Dauda is senior by age…he is senior even to this House. So I will not sit in his chair as somebody who is well trained from home.”
Haruna Iddrisu explained that he will take any other seat given to him. “So any other chair is acceptable to me, I am still the elected representative for Tamale South.”
Former Deputy Majority Leader James Klutse Avedzi has accepted the seat of his successor Armah Kofi Buah behind his former seat.
It is not clear yet where former Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak will sit.
Minority Leader, Ato Forson, has disclosed that he had no knowledge of his appointment until barely 24 hours to the announcement.
According to him, much like the rest of the NDC parliamentary Caucus, he had no say whatsoever concerning the decision.
Speaking in his first interview following the announcement on JoyNews’ PM Express on Wednesday, he said he was surprised by the decision after he was informed in a short face-to-face meeting by the party’s national leadership.
“I was told the night before. It’s a decision that the party had made so they were informing me not for me to make a choice as to whether I’m going to accept it or not to accept it. But I took it like a call to duty.
“In fact, it shook me, it took me by surprise. But what I told you earlier is that I adapt so easily and that’s my biggest strength, it doesn’t take me a couple of minutes to adapt so I sat back and said ‘hey…’”
Speaking concerning his relationship with the erstwhile Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, the Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam MP stated that working with him had allowed him to excel.
“Let me put it this way, if there is any person in this House who has worked so hard for Haruna Iddrissu and worked for him, I don’t think there will be two people more than me. My loyalty to him is unquestionable.
“I’ve loved him; in fact, I’m a product of his leadership because he gave me room to work and to excel. It’s not every leader that will give his ranking the opportunity to excel at that magnitude.
“And I work for him; I go to him every morning, sit him down and brief him on a daily basis. The first thing I do when I get to Parliament, mostly before 9 am, is walk straight to his office…we’ll have our small meeting, I brief him for the day and then we disperse and go to the Floor. So we have that cohesion,” he said.
According to Dr Ato Forson, he is honoured to have been the one chosen to fill the “very big shoe” of his predecessor.
He said while he has “never wished for his job” he takes the appointment as an opportunity to “also step in and to lead the party.”
“So when I was told, my first concern was is he aware of it and how will he feel? But Haruna Iddrisu knows that I’ve never wished for his job.
“However, if at a point in time, one person will have to stand up and do something for the Caucus and I happen to be the one, I think it’s an honour for me to step in the very big shoes of my predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu.
“It’s a big decision…the party took a big decision it believes is the right decision. The NDC thinks where we’ve gotten to it needs a new general to take us to that kind of war, that’s how I interpreted it.
“Haruna has done his part and done it very well, his successes are out there for everybody to see. And clearly, the time has come for a new general to step into the fire. I recognise that and honestly, I take it as an opportunity to also step in and to lead the party,” he said.
He said immediately after being informed of the decision, “I called him [Haruna Iddrisu] to inform him about it.”
“As soon as I left the place I placed a phone call to him out of respect I have for him.”
The new Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has pledged that the NDC Caucus in Parliament under his leadership will not tolerate any bad governance from the current administration.
In his maiden speech to Parliament as a Minority Leader, Dr. Ato Forson said the minority will offer fair and unbiased, balanced, consultative, and principled leadership to ensure the Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Bawumia’s government account in a manner that helps deliver public goods.
“To you my colleagues in the Minority Caucus, we pledge to offer fair and unbiased, balanced, consultative, and principled leadership in our journey to broaden the frontiers of Parliamentary oversight and hold the Akufo-Addo & Alhaji Bawumia government to account in a manner that helps deliver public goods,” he said.
He thanked the party and colleagues for allowing him to serve, and also commended Haruna Iddrisu for his distinguished public service since 2017.
“In January 7, 2009, I took the first step in this very chamber towards becoming a representative for the people of Ajumako Enyan Essiam and contributing my quota to Ghana’s Parliamentary Democracy. Fourteen years on, from a fresh legislator, I have the unique honour of being entrusted with the leadership of the Minority Caucus in the 8th Parliament of the 4th Republic.
“I wish to convey our profound gratitude to my party, the great National Democratic Congress, and our colleagues on the Minority side for this opportunity to serve at an even higher level and help shape the trajectory of this Parliament. I want to express on behalf of my colleagues, our profound appreciation and thanks to the immediate past Minority Leader and my senior brother, the Hon Haruna Iddrisu, for his many years of distinguished public service and his sterling leadership of the Caucus since 2017,” he said.
Speaker of the House, Alban Bagbin has expressed appreciation to the outgoing Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and his team.
While welcoming lawmakers back to the House, Mr. Bagbin wished the outgoing minority leadership well in their endeavours.
“The former members of the [Minority] leadership led by Haruna Iddrisu must be applauded because their record of performance is visible for all to see, and I hope the new leadership will learn from their fountain of wisdom, trove of wealth and experience.”
“What I can say to the former leadership is, the Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want and when one door closes, another one opens and I tell you for sure that the opened doors are better and higher than the closed doors. Look at the open doors and not the closed doors and with this, I welcome all of you once more”.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) changed its leadership in Parliament on January 24, 2023.
Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson replaced Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Agbodza took over from Asawase MP Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah were the only two members of the Haruna-led administration that maintained their positions as First and Second Deputy Whips respectively.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has welcomed the old leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus back to Parliament with a heartwarming message.
He also referred to a scripture in the Bible as a way of congratulating the old leadership of the Minority caucus in parliament.
The new leadership, led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, who took over from Haruna Iddrisu as the Minority Leader, was welcomed by the Speaker after he announced to the House that he had received the correspondence from the NDC leadership.
In welcoming them, Alban Bagbin told the new leaders that they have come to the ‘hot seat.’
“On behalf of the House, and on my part, I warmly welcome them to the hot seat of the leadership of parliament; and I want to emphasise, hot seat of the leadership of parliament,” he said.
He referred to the famous scripture in Psalm 23 to the former leadership, led by Haruna Iddrisu.
“All I can say to the former leaders is, the Lord is your shepherd, you shall not want. When one door closes, many doors open, and I can tell you for sure that many of the open doors are better and higher than the closed door.
“Look at the open doors, and not the close ,” he told them.
The new leaders of the Minority in Parliament include Emmanuel Armarh Kofi Buah, as Deputy Minority Leader; and Kwame Governs Agbodza as Minority Chief Whip.
According to the National Democratic Congress’ Council of Elders, the party will always remember the contributions made by the immediate past Minority Caucus leaders.
The party stated in a statement on Monday that James Klutse Avedzi, Muntaka Mubarak, and Haruna Iddrisu, the former minority leader, had all performed admirably in their roles and that the party should not disregard their labors.
It praised their work and urged all of its lawmakers to stick together despite the current conflicts brought on by the party’s shift in parliamentary leadership.
“The Council of Elders acknowledges the leadership and sterling achievements of the outgoing leaders of the NDC caucus namely, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, Hon. James Klutse Avedzi and Hon. Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak who have raised the profile of the NDC minority caucus and demonstrated that indeed it is the NDC who has the men and women capable of turning the fortunes of Ghanaians around.
“Their efforts have contributed to reassuring Ghanaians that the NDC party is ready to assume power and rescue the nation from the depths of despair and desperation. Indeed, the NDC party must not and will never forget the contributions of our three respected comrades in improving the electoral fortunes of the party”, portions of the statement read.
In the meantime, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Council of Elders claims that the party needs to reevaluate changes to how it chooses its legislators.
The Council stated in its statement on Monday that this has become necessary as a result of recent conflicts inside the party as a result of a shift in its parliamentary front.
In order to avoid similar situations in the future, the agreement signed by the Council’s Chairperson, Mahama Iddrisu, stated that the party was willing to discuss a new structure that would govern how the party chooses its leaders in the House.
“While recognising that the party leadership was within its rights to make appointments or rotate the leadership of the NDC Caucus in Parliament as has been the case since the inception of the Parliament of the 4th Republic, the Council is of the view that the processes need to be improved”, the statement emphasised.
The party’s elders further indicated that they have resolved the impasse surrounding the changes in its parliamentary front.
In doing so, the party said it, “approached the engagements conscious of the need for an early resolution which will be in the best interest of the party and mindful of the imperatives of unity and cohesion at a time Ghanaians are looking up to the NDC to rescue the country from the dismal state of affairs which has been the hallmark of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government”.
Background
On Tuesday, January 24, a statement from the party’s General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, announced Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as the new Minority Leader with Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah as the Deputy Minority Leader.
MP for Adaklu, Governs Kwame Agbodza was also named as the party’s new Minority Chief Whip, taking over from Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak.
This development has since been met with a lot of resentment from some quarters of the party, including Tamale Central MP, Murtala Mohammed who has questioned the timing and relevance of the change.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Koku Anyidoho also took to Twitter to berate the changes.
Later, some displeased members of the party allegedly stormed the premises of Radio Tamale where the party’s Deputy General Secretary was having an interview.
According to the report, the irate party supporters pounced on him and visited harm on his person.
But speaking to ‘JoyNews on Thursday in the wake of the rumours, Mustapha Gbande disclosed that the reports of assault on him are untrue.
According to him, he only addressed the concerned party faithful who came to the premises after which they all left the scene.
Following this, former NDC lawmaker, Ras Mubarak, also took a swipe at the critics of the changes in the parliamentary leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a Facebook post, he noted that despite the reservations from some quarters of the party, the changes will not be reversed.
According to him, there is the need for the aggrieved members of the party to suspend their reservations and throw their weight behind the new Miniorty Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and his team.
This he believes will inure to the greater good of the party in its quest to win the 2024 general election.
The statement from the party’s Council of Elders is therefore expected to bring an end to all the media alterations which the party has described as regrettable.
The newly appointed Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson, has taken over his predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu’s seat in Parliament.
This happened on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, when the House resumed from recess.
In a video sighted by the Independent Ghana Mr Forson was seen standing at the front bench, exchanging pleasantries and having brief conversations with his colleagues in the House.
He subsequently addressed the House when the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, opened the floor for the “New Leadership of the Minority Caucus” to address the House if they had anything to say.
In his address, he commended his colleague MPs for giving him the opportunity to serve as the Minority Leader after 14 years in the House.
“We wish to convey our profound gratitude to our party, the great NDC MPs on the Minority side for this opportunity to serve at an even higher level to help shape the trajectory of Parliament,” he said.
He also commended his predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu, for the “sterling” leadership over the past years as Leader of the Minority.
“Again Mr Speaker, I’ll like to express on behalf of my colleagues [i.e newly appointed NDC Leaders] our profound appreciation and thanks to the immediate past Minority Leader and my Senior Brother Hon Haruna Iddrisu for his many years of distinguished public service and his sterling leadership of the Minority Caucus since 2017,” he added.
“His leadership is an honourable political and legislative career which has become a reference point for many who aspire to participate in Ghanaian politics and particularly in Public service. Again Mr Speaker, I’ll endeavour to continue on the admirable path he has charted in the helm of the Minority Caucus and to live up to the very lofty standards that he has laid down in his leadership,” he added.
The Ejumako Enyan Essiam MP further pledged the NDC’s commitment to the works of the House under his Leadership and said his outfit will work to the benefit of Ghanaians.
“We will not be needlessly obstructive inasmuch as what is under consideration is in the interest of the people of Ghana,” he added.
The former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson was appointed in January this year together with two other persons to lead the Minority Caucus. He was to replace Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah was also named the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip, and Kwame Governs Agbodza also took over as Chief Whip.
However, Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, was retained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, just as Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is still the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress and dated January 23, 2023. Following the reshuffle, chaos broke out in the party with some members who were not in support of the decision registering their displeasure through protests.
While Mr Iddrisu remained silent on the matter, former Minority Chief Whip, Munkata Mubarak protested the decision. He finally conceded after a meeting with former President John Dramani Mahama.
Former Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has conceded to the reshuffle of the front bench of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament.
According to sources, Mr Iddrisu wants to maintain a “golden silence” on the matter.
However, he has pledged to fully support the new leadership led by Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
Our sources added that Mr Iddrisu’s main preoccupation now is ensuring victory for the NDC in 2024 elections both presidential and parliamentary.
Earlier in the day, the formerMinority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak also in a Facebook post accepted the decision of the party.
The Asawase MP who was unhappy with the decision says he has accepted it in the interest of the party.
He also thanked former President John Mahama for intervening in the matter.
“To all our supporters within and without. I had a lengthy meeting with my big brother, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, on Saturday evening over the parliamentary reshuffle.
“I want to, first of all, thank him for the words of advice and encouragement to me as a younger brother.
“His Excellency’s intervention has brought an end to all the brouhaha associated with the reshuffle.”
Mr Muntaka thus urged the rank and file of the party to focus their energies towards election 2024.
“We are for the interest of our party NDC. We need to move on as a party and channel all our energies towards the 2024 elections.
Parliament will resume its operations on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 after the House went on recess in December.
A statement signed by Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, on January 24, said: “The Third Session of the Eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic shall commence at 10 o’clock in the forenoon of Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
It adds that, the Speaker of Parliament, by Clause (1) of Article 112 of the 1992 Constitution, appointed Parliament House, Accra, to be the place of meeting.
Upon assumption, the minority will see new leaders in charge of its caucus following a major shake-up by the NDC leadership.
The new leaders are Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah and Kwame Governs Agbodza, who have replaced Haruna Iddrisu, James Klutse Avedzi, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, as Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader and Minority Chief Whip, respectively.
Some of the issues the house is expected to consider include the LGBTQ+ bill, the COVID-19 expenditure probe, and the call for the Finance Minister to leave office, National Cathedral expenditure among others.
National Chairman for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, says the changes in the party’s leadership in parliament was due in 2021.
The process delayed till last month when the party notified Parliament of changes which included replacing Haruna Iddrisu with Cassiel Ato Forson as Minority Leader.
The party also replaced Haruna’s deputy and Chief Whip.
Addressing concerns about the timing of the party’s changes, Asiedu Nketiah said the changes had actually delayed by two years.
“We needed to have done these changes as far back as March 2021, we’ve delayed and the closer we got to elections, the more difficult it will become to implement such changes and we think that that is the best time to go about the changes.
“The leadership that we have just changed, they’ve done their part. We needed them at the time we chose them, we felt that they possess the skill set that could meet the challenges as at that time and they discharged their work creditably.
“Now, we are facing new set of emerging challenges and so it is only reasonable to go for a new set of leadership that possesses the skill set that will be able to discharge the responsibilities that have emerged because of the changing times,” he told party faithful in London last week.
Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, has entreated individuals who are interested in contesting against him for the constituency seat in Parliament to do so when the National Democratic Congress (NDC) organizes its parliamentary primaries in May.
Mr Iddrisu, however, is certain of a win by a landslide no matter who decides to compete against him.
“The Tamale South seat is free, it is open. When nominations open, you can come in. The only thing I can assure you is that you won’t get more than 5% of the votes or probably 2%. You won’t make more than five percent,” the MP told JoyNews.
Since joining the Fourth Parliament in 2008, Haruna Iddrisu has served in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and current Eighth Parliaments.
Over the years, he has also held a number of ministerial positions, including the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations.
On the matter, National Chairman of the NDC, Asiedu Nketiah said the MP has become so powerful in his constituency that it would even be surprising if he is contested at all when the primaries are held later this year.
“The outgone Minority Leader, Honourable Haruna Iddrisu, he is so powerful in his constituency, he is almost always not contested at all. I have my doubts whether anybody will contest him,” Asiedu Nketiah told party faithful during a meeting in London.
The NDC will hold presidential and parliamentary primaries on May 13, 2023.
Former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, is predicting chaos ahead of Parliament’s first sitting this year. His prediction follows the reshuffle of NDC leadership in Parliament.
He said that the military and police must be deployed to Parliament on February 7, 2023, when the House resumes its sittings.
According to him, it is likely there will be chaos in the House because of the change in the leadership of the minority caucus.
Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Obiri Boahen added that there might be chaos because some of the leaders who have changed have not indicated that they are stepping down and their supporters are running riot.
“… soldiers must be sent to Parliament when the House resumes on the 7th. The number of police and soldiers sent there should be like deployment for a war… Supporters of Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka are very adamant that they are still the leaders of the minority and are determined to cause trouble if there are attempts to replace them.
“Something is going to happen when parliament resumes on the 7th (of February). Because the supporters of Haruna Iddrisu will not agree for someone else to be in his chair and Ato Forson is also determined to take the position of majority leader.
“I not happy about this… but some African politicians learn history but don’t learn from the lessons of history. The Swedru declaration led to the NDC losing power and the NPP coming to power. And this reshuffle done by the NDC will either make or break them,” he said in Twi.
Meanwhile, the National Executive of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is expected to meet the party’s Members of Parliament (MPs) on the appointment of their new leadership, on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
According to the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Fifi Kwetey, the executives will be meeting with the minority caucus to explain their decision, after which a confirmation of the new parliamentary leadership will be made.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
Some MPs of the party have petitioned its National Executive Committee (NEC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East), and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), who are calling for the suspension, argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
Contrary to claims that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is divided following the reshuffle of its Leadership in Parliament, National Chairman for the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, says the party is united.
According to him, the reactions being seen as a result of the reshuffle are normal and should be expected after any change, citinewsroom.com reports.
He added that the majority of NDC faithful have accepted the change in the party’s parliamentary leadership.
“The NDC is not fragmented at all; it’s still a very united party. The truth about every decision is that every change comes along with new gainers, so you will definitely have some reactions.
“But the change has been welcomed by the majority of NDC members across the country, I guess even here [UK]. The reshuffle has brought some new excitement on the front of NDC,” Asiedu Nketiah is quoted to have said while addressing NDC supporters in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The national chairman also explained that the party’s change in parliamentary leadership was long overdue.
“This leadership ought to have been reshuffled around March 2021. I explained to Ghanaians that, because of our court case, we didn’t feel like proceeding with that work. And I indicated clearly that it was a work in progress and that somewhere along the line, we will come out to indicate to Ghanaians who our next leadership will be.
“And so I’m surprised that people were surprised about the move. In fact, we were running late for the changes,” he added
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
Some MPs of the party have petitioned its National Executive Committee (NEC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East), and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), who are calling for the suspension, argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
An NDC Minority Caucus meeting that was supposed to resolve topics of contention over a leadership change has been postponed again.
This meeting became necessary following the removal of Haruna Iddrisu, Muntaka Mubarak and James Klutse Avedzi as leaders of the Caucus with the appointment of Dr Ato Forson as the new leader.
Other appointments include MP for Ellembele as Deputy Minority Leader and Adaklu MP, Governs Kwame Agbodza as Minority Chief Whip.
Some 70 NDC MPs have kicked against the decision and have called for its rescission.
The MPs have addressed petitions to the NDC Council of Elders, former President John Mahama and Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
Party leaders were expected to meet the Caucus today to iron out these issues but the meeting has been postponed indefinitely.
Last week the Caucus was expected to meet on the same issue but the meeting did not materialise.
A source within the caucus told JoyNews’ Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent Kwaku Asante that the postponement of the meeting was necessary because tensions were still high within the Caucus and both sides of the argument have not softened their stance.
Again, following a petition to the party’s Council of Elders, some meetings have been arranged to bring the matter to finality.
The Council of Elders is meeting with some of the 70 MPs who have signed a petition asking for broader consultation on the matter.
The party is racing against time to calm the waters before Parliament resumes on Tuesday, February 8.
Today, Tuesday, January 31, the National Executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will meet with members of the Minority Caucus to discuss the changes made to their leadership in the legislature.
The meeting comes after the resistance that greeted the reshuffle which saw Haruna Iddrisu removed as Minority Leader and replaced by Dr Cassel Ato Forson.
Tuesday’s meeting is expected to explain to the caucus reasons behind the reshuffle and get the support of all aggrieved Minority MPs.
There has been a division among members of the group following a reshuffle of its leadership by the national executives of the NDC.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with the leadership after his appointment, the Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson assured of a collaboration with the former leaders of the caucus to deliver on their mandate in Parliament.
“We have just come out of a very successful meeting with the leadership of the party. We are going to deliver on our mandate. ”
“And as has been agreed with the leadership of the party, there will be a series of activities that will be undertaken beginning from today. We will have our maiden meeting with our leadership and the party leadership on Tuesday,” he added.
As part of the leadership changes, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has alleged that some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) want the former minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, to rejoin the party.
According to him, the NPP supporters are not happy with the treatment of Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, by the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
He added that the NPP supporters argue that Haruna was an NPP member before he was snatched by a leading member of the NDC, Mohammed Ibn Chambers, and he is welcome if he wants to return to the party.
“Some NPP supporters called me as I was coming into the studio and guess what they said. They said “Haruna Iddrisu has been removed as minority leader, tell him to come back to us.
“They said “Paul didn’t you know that Haruna Iddrisu was with the NDC before he joined the NPP? He was with the NPP before Mohammed Chambers took him to the NDC,” Adom Otchere said during his Good Evening Ghana programme, which was monitored by GhanaWeb.
The broadcaster went on to play the hit song Lucky Mensah, Old School Girl, which was requested by the NPP supporters.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. He replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
Some MPs of the party have petitioned the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to suspend the appointment of the new leadership of the party in Parliament.
The NDC MPs calling for the suspension, including Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka (MP for Asawase), Dominic Ayine (MP for Bolgatanga East) and Cletus Avoka (MP for Zebilla), argue that the appointment was not made by any of the party’s decision-making structures but was imposed by just a few people.
Managing editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr., has added his voice to those criticizing the recent changes in the NDC’s parliamentary leadership.
The seasoned reporter argued that it was “extremely dangerous” to dismiss Haruna Iddrisu from his position as minority leader.
The seasoned political commentator questioned the reasoning and procedures used to replace the MP for Tamale South in remarks he made over the weekend on Pan African TV in Accra.
He expressed his doubts, saying that since Haruna Iddrisu is a pillar of the NDC, even if his dismissal had been warranted, it should have been handled delicately.
“This is a reckless move, absolutely reckless move. So what have you achieved? You have created conditions for all manner of speculations”, Mr Pratt said.
He continued, “Yesterday, I was listening to some of my friends in the NPP discuss this matter. Come and see, it is like they have won a bonanza.
“One of them actually went to the extent of saying John Mahama directed this move because he has a rift with Haruna, [so] he wants to show Haruna some sense.
“This is not true, John Mahama was not comfortable with this move.”
He added that the NDC should have been more mindful of Haruna Iddrisu’s stature and influence in the North, before embarking on his replacement as the Minority Leader.
“Haruna Iddrisu may have all his faults but he is the primus inter pares in the Northern region. I have been to Tamale on many occasions. I went to school in Tamale, I know Tamale fairly well.
“This is a man who comes to Tamale and he doesn’t drive a car. I have seen him riding just an ordinary bicycle moving from place to place holding caucuses in the streets, playing cards with members. I have seen him on a motorbike going to funerals and so on.
“He is not God, he is not all-knowing, he is not omnipotent, he is not omnipresent, he can be removed but if you want to remove him, there are things that you have to do knowing the political circumstances. Were those things done?”, he queried.
The comments by Kwesi Pratt follow the recently announced changes in the NDC’s parliamentary front.
A statement from the party’s General Secretary, Fifi Kwetey, last week, announced Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as the new Minority Leader with Emmanuel Kofi-Armah Buah as the Deputy Minority Leader.
MP for Adaklu, Governs Kwame Agbodza was also named as the party’s new Minority Chief Whip, taking over from Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak.
This development has since been met with a lot of resentment from some quarters of the party, including Tamale Central MP, Murtala Mohammed who has questioned the timing and relevance of the change.
However, the party’s Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, insists that the move is a prudent one which will inure to the benefit of the party.
Addressing some party faithful abroad over the weekend, he said the allegations of cracks in the party, due to the changes are false and should be dismissed.
Meanwhile, former NDC lawmaker, Ras Mubarak, has taken a swipe at critics of the changes in the parliamentary leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In a Facebook post on Friday, he noted that despite the reservations from some quarters of the party, the changes will not be reversed.
According to him, there is the need for the aggrieved members of the party to suspend their reservations and throw their weight behind the new Miniorty Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson and his team.
Immediate-past Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu was captured on January 29, 2023 engaging in sporting activities in Accra.
It is the first time he has been seen publicly since his replacement as Minority Leader in Parliament, a decision that has split the caucus he had led for six years.
Photos circulated on social media of the Tamale South Member of Parliament purportedly engaging in early morning excercise at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Later in the day, photos shared on Twitter showed Haruna interacting with players of Karela FC, a club that he owns.
He was also spotted at the Accra Sports Stadium later in the afternoon watching Karela play Accra Great Olympics in their Ghana Premier League fixture.
Unfortunately Karela lost the game by a lone goal to their hosts. It was the fifth defeat in six games for the Western Region based side.
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
He listed four major achievements dating as far back as late 2020 when Minority opposition along with pressure from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) forced government to drop the controversial Agyapa Royalties deal.
“As Minority Leader, you may like or dislike Haruna but at least I got a Speaker elected, I got a budget rejected and installed, I got Agyapa rejected.
“I got a debt exchange which is still struggling to be approved, all in service of the people,” he told Joy News in an interview early last week.
Haruna also cited the purported rejection of the 2022 budget of government as well as the opposition mounted by his caucus to the ongoing Domestic Debt Exchange programme (DDEP) of government.
Haruna’s main reference to his first tenure as Minority Leader (between 2017 – 2021) was the rejection of the Agyapa Deal.
The controversial deal was essentially a transaction by which 75.6% of royalties payable to the Government of Ghana over the life of a number of mining operations were being assigned to a Jersey-incorporated company and its Ghanaian affiliate.
The Minority forced Parliament to abandon the deal and vowed to vigorously oppose it in any shape or form when it is tabled before Parliament again. Minister Ofori-Atta mentioned it in the 2022 budget but it has not seen any progress since then.
On the DDEP, the Minority recently asked government to formally abandon the programme and or hold wide consultation with affected parties with an emphasis on exempting individual bondholders.
Barely 24 hours after the interview, it was reported that Haruna had been replaced as Minority Leader by Cassiel Ato Forson (MP or Ajumako Enyan Essiam), a decision that has since split the caucus into the pro-Haruna and Ato-Forson blocs.
NDC rings changes in parliamentary leadership
The NDC, through its General Secretary Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, wrote to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to announce the replacement of three members: the Minority Leader, the Deputy Minority Leader, and the Minority Chief Whip.
The NDC picked Ato Forson to replace Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the Minority Caucus.
Other changes included Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembele, who is the new deputy Minority Chief Whip.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is also retained as the second deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Economist and political risk analyst, Dr Theo Acheampong says the decision taken by the executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to change the leadership of the Minority Caucus came as a shock.
According to Dr Acheampong, the ousted leaders have performed remarkably well in terms of holding the Akufo-Addo-led administration to account in Parliament.
The Economist made this statement in an interview on Newsfile on Saturday, when host, Samson Lardy Anyenini asked his view on the shake-up in the NDC party in parliament.
“I think Haruna, Muntaka and Avedzi, looking or from where I sit, they’ve actually performed creditably well as the leadership of the minority in actually holding the government to account. The quality of governance from the parliamentary side of things has actually improved with this 137 split-out.”
“So for them to be reshuffled, tells some of us that perhaps there are other factors or considerations at play, and not necessarily because of the works that they’re doing in parliament and for the party,” he said.
The NDC reshuffled its leaders in parliament on Tuesday, January 21, 2023. This change affected three major positions: the Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader and the Minority Chief Whip.
Per the new changes, Haruna Iddrissu, lost his position as Minority Leader to Dr Cassiel Ato Forso, while MP for Ketu North James Klutse Avedzi was succeeded by MP for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah as Deputy Minority Leader.
The MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak was also replaced by Kwame Governs Agbodza as Minority Chief Whip, while the positions of Ibrahim Ahmed and Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe as First Deputy Minority Whip and Second Deputy Minority Whip, respectively, were retained.
Meanwhile, Dr Acheampong believes that the current division between members of the party over this change gives an indication that enough consultation was not done in choosing the new minority leaders.
For this reason, he believes that the current push-back might have an impact on the party’s chances in the 2024 elections.
However, he added that it was “too early in the day to predict to what extent that if any, would impact the party’s chances, come 2024.”
The recent announcement of leadership changes among the Minority Caucus in Parliament has triggered backlash, less on the front of its legality and more on the front of propriety and due process.
The Caucus is currently split with the outgoing Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu’s bloc questioning the manner in which the change was effected whereas the Cassiel Ato Forson bloc insists that the National Executives had the locus to ring the changes.
There is consensus that the election of leaders for the caucus is not contained in the party’s constitution but that consultation and engagement has over the years become the convention.
Member of Parliament for Buem, Kofi Adams, who has publicly backed the National Executives for the latest changes has explained that even though the party is mute on the issue, Parliament’s Standing Orders settles the matter.
He explained that per the Standing Orders, the responsibility of appointing leadership of the Minority or Majority Caucus rested with the party on whose ticket the person was elected.
“If you look at Article 110 of the Constitution, it recognizes that Parliament itself will have Standing Orders… 110 (1) says subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may by Standing Orders regulate its own procedure,” he said on Citi FM (January 25, 2023).
He cited the Standing Orders of 2000, specifically Order 7, which deals with interpretation of words and terms as used in Parliament.
“The Standing Order interprets who (in this case) a Minority Leader is: “Minority Leader means a Member of Parliament designated by the party and or parties and or members forming the Minority as their recognized leader.
“Our own Standing Orders recognize that it is the party or the parties if they are in alliance, they designate. It is only when they fail or they don’t act, it is only then that the members who form the Minority can now recognize somebody,” he explained.
A copy of the November 2000 Standing Order available to GhanaWeb reads: “Minority Leader” means a Member of Parliament designated by the Party having the largest numerical strength in Parliament other than the Party that has formed the Government, as the recognised Leader of all the Minority groups in the House.”
Meanwhile, new Minority Leader Ato Forson held a press conference this morning to accept the role and call for unity, later in the day, pro-Haruna MPs also held a press conference protesting the process involved in the new changes.
Jones Sarfo Anyamesema, a former NABCO coordinator has stated that Haruna Iddrisu’s removal from a leadership role in Parliament on the side of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is a punishment.
The former NABCO coordinator claims that his refusal to throw his support behind Johnson Asiedu Nketiah’s candidature in the party’s National election is what has landed him in trouble.
He was speaking on Kumasi-based Ultimate Fm monitored by MyNewsGh.com
“You see, I don’t belong to NDC but any politician will like Haruna in their party. He knows his trade and has acquitted himself with his team. He has created history in Ghana by together with his group creating a hung parliament”
“How do you remove such a person and replace him with losers who we don’t know track record in the house? Haruna is just being punished for not openly supporting Asiedu Nketia period”, he claimed.
The NDC has changed its leadership in Parliament replacing Haruna Iddrisu with Dr Cassiel Ato Forson as the Minority leader.
The changes have been met with some opposition from grassroots members whereas some leading members believe it was unnecessary.
For the first time since his party, the National Democratic Congress(NDC), replaced him as Minority Leader, the outgoing Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has made a statement.
Haruna Iddrisu, on the other hand, has not addressed issues concerning the appointment of new minority caucus leaders.
The Member of Parliament for Tamale South, in his first pronouncement, was reacting to alleged statements he made on social media about his removal.
In a side social media post, Haruna Iddrisu was lashing out over his removal, saying that his spirit can never be tamed.
But in a statement that he issued on Thursday, January 26, 2023, Haruna Iddrisu said that he has never been on social media and hence did not share the post.
He said that the posts were created by persons who wanted to sow division in the NDC.
“I, therefore, entreat the general public, particularly the rank and file of our great NDC Party, to ignore the posts with the contempt they deserve.
“The creation of the (social media) accounts and the posts therein are mere attempts by detractors to sow seeds of discontent within the hierarchy of the Party and to smear my person but they shall definitely FAIL. I have no doubt that the truth will always prevail,” parts of the statement read.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC, with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament, saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic who replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress, dated January 23, 2023.
Member of Parliament for the Asawase Constituency and Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, has revealed that Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu is upset by the NDC Executive’s decision to not go by the agreed measure to address a leadership reshuffle.
Muntaka revealed that discussions between Mr Iddrisu and newly appointed Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson were not fruitful.
“I can tell you that the meeting was not fruitful. He mentioned some measures that they had to take, but that was not done. I can tell you that he was irritated at the meeting,” Muntaka said during a press conference on Thursday.
Mr Muntaka advised the new minority leadership to be patient and allow consultations to be held before they assume their roles.
Dr Ato Forson on Thursday promised to do everything within his power to unite the caucus before he eventually assumes his position on February 7 when Parliament resumes from recess.
His comment contradicts claims by Dr Ato Forson who said that he had held fruitful discussions with his former leader following his appointment by the party.
Some NDC MPs have petitioned the party leadership over recent changes on their front bench in the lawmaking house.
The legislators believe the reshuffling is premature and does not augur well for the opposition party going into the next elections given the lack of consultation.
Addressing the media on Thursday, January 26, 2023, at the behest of the NDC parliamentarians, MP for Zebilla East and former Majority Leader, Cletus Apul Avoka stressed that only a decision arrived at after broad deliberations will be accepted.
“The basis for our prayer is that the party suspends the reshuffling as indicated by the General Secretary until such a time that a holistic meeting of stakeholders with consultations before a decision is taken.”
“It is on this backdrop that the national executives of the party a few weeks ago decided that all appointees in the party and parliament should remain in office after we conclude the parliamentary and presidential primaries. We are therefore surprised that the reshuffling is reaching the caucus in Parliament. We think that this is premature.”
The tenure of the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, as Minority Leader in Ghana’s parliament may well be over for now, but that cannot be without some of the huge impacts his administration chalked in the last six years.
Having become the Minority Leader in 2017 after the current government, led by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, took over political office, the outspoken former leader of parliament has been in the news for many good and bad things.
However, in this GhanaWeb article, we take a look at some seven major achievements that were chalked under his tenure.
This life is made available via JoyNews and elaborated on by this news portal. Here they are:
NDC Speaker of Parliament from the Minority side:
It was the kind of news that took the entire nation by surprise when it emerged that, for the first time in Ghana’s history, the person who had been elected to be the Speaker of Parliament was from the minority side of the House.
Alban Bagbin, who had not long ago said his goodbyes to contesting the seat of the Nadowli/Kaleo constituency ( the seat he held from 1992 until 2020), beat the more incumbent Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye to become the Speaker of Parliament.
His election coincided with the historic 8th Parliament of Ghana, which is the first hung Parliament ever in the country, with a split of 137 seats each on both sides of the House.
However, the only independent Member of Parliament, who is also currently the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Asiamah Amoako of the Fomena constituency, was elected to vote with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The election of Alban Bagbin as Ghana’s Speaker of Parliament remains, perhaps, the biggest achievement of the Haruna Iddrisu administration.
Rejection of 2022 budget:
On November 26, 2021, the Haruna Iddrisu-led minority in parliament chalked up another first when they rejected the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy that was presented to the House.
The statement was presented by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
On the day, parliament was expected to bring a finality to its debate of the budget, and eventually approve it, but things spiralled differently.
In a turn of events, the Majority MPs staged a walkout of the House, leaving only members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) side to decide on the budget.
They eventually voted for the rejection of the budget, making it the first time such a thing had happened in the country.
However, days later, there was a reverse move by the Majority when they resumed sitting. They overturned the earlier decision of the Speaker of Parliament, who was absent on that day, led by the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a member of the NPP, Joseph Osei-Owusu.
Got E-Levy rate reduced from 1.75% to 1.5%:
Through the influence of the Minority, the initially proposed 1.75% Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) that was presented to parliament, was reduced to 1.5%.
The E-Levy, which has since become law, allows for the government to tax all digital money platforms, such as Mobile Money services, a tax on all transactions made.
The E-Levy, which was a controversial bill before parliament for a very long time, has recently been reviewed further to 1%.
Blocked government from fully financing National Cathedral:
On Wednesday, December 14, 2022, parliament’s Trades and Industry Committee suspended the approval process for an amount of GH¢80 million allocated for the construction of the National Cathedral.
The allocation was the first time an amount had been explicitly made in lieu of the project, with previous disbursements made out of the Contingency Fund.
According to Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, over GH¢330 million has so far been expended from the Fund.
The 2023 allocation was made in respect of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), but the Committee’s said the previous disbursements will need to be justified along with the new allocation for the budgeted sum to be approved.
Tamale Central Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, who disclosed the development to Accra-based JoyNews on December 13, said the suspension will be in place till justification for the allocation is made.
“What the Committee decided was that we cannot just approve this GH¢80 million, we must know how the other GH¢339 million was spent. What did it constitute?
“The GH¢80 million you want us to approve, how did it find space in the budget line of the Ministry of Tourism when the Minister and the directors could not speak to the questions we were asking? What constitutes the GH¢80 million, they should give us a breakdown,” he stressed.
Probe into COVID-19 expenditure:
On Thursday, June 2, 2022, Haruna Iddrisu led the Minority in Parliament to demand that a probe be made into the expenditure that has been made so far in the country’s fight against the Coronavirus.
According to him, the Minority is vindicated by the fact that a leading member of the NPP publicly disclosed that COVID funds were shared among party executives.
His comment followed claims that some COVID-19 monies had been shared among NPP members.
”As much as we feel vindicated, we also feel equally scandalised by emerging reports by leading members of the NPP in particular, a leading Vice-Chair called Felicia Tetteh, who is publicly reported to have said that COVID monies were shared among party leadership, constituencies, regional and for my purposes, I add national,” he said in a press conference.
Haruna Iddrisu further stated their demand for an immediate investigation into the matter.
“That in fact makes our call for an imminent investigation of the highly anomalous COVID expenditure spending to be probed. We now can understand why a motion by the Minority in Parliament to probe COVID by an institution which should be the most fundamental institution and guardian of the public purse, parliament, will dismiss the motion even at birth by actors of the New Patriotic Party political administration,” he added.
In August 2022, the probe eventually started.
Ken Ofori-Atta dragged before a vote of censure committee:
After several attempts to get the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, to resign, the Minority, led by Haruna Iddrisu and Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson (the new Minority Leader), initiate a parliamentary process to remove the minister.
He was eventually dragged before an ad hoc committee that was set up by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to look into the vote of censure motion brought before the House.
It become another historic moment, seeing that in the history of the country, this was only the second time that a minister of state was facing a vote of censure.
The Speaker of Parliament, after reviewing the report presented to him by the committee called for a vote to be taken on the motion.
The Majority however staged a walkout, leaving their colleagues on the other side of the House to deliberate alone, but they were unable to get the motion passed because they failed to make up the needed numbers to pass it.
The vote of censure eventually failed.
Blocked the controversial Agyapa deal:
The government of Ghana, through Ken Ofori-Atta, presented a deal to parliament that the Minority fought vehemently against.
Known as the Agyapa deal, the government sought to securitise Ghana’s mineral resources for development.
However, with strong resistance from the Minority, led by Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the deal has since been suspended.
The government has however been making unsuccessful attempts to reintroduce it in parliament.
The National Organiser of theNational Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Yamin, has said that the national executive of the party does not need the consent of the party’s parliamentary caucus before making any decision.
According to him, the executives of the party have been given the power by the constitution of the NDC to make appointments including that of the party’s leadership in Parliament.
“I don’t fault anybody who has issues with the change in leadership but the point is that the national executives of the party have been given some power to make appointments including that of the leadership of Parliament.
“What we did was a reshuffle and there is no timeframe for it. These current executives have been in office for at least seven years. Haruna Iddrisu was the minority leader from 2017 to yesterday. Mutaka has been chief whip from when the NDC was in power.
“I don’t see anything wrong when the party takes a decision and says that at this moment, we should let some new faces take over. It was the party’s decision and the party did not take the decision without consulting those who were removed. We don’t need to consult the caucus. Let us not forget that those who were removed were also appointed by the party,” he said in Twi.
Yamin also posited that the party’s parliamentary caucus is not bigger than the party for its executives to seek their permission before taking decisions.
“Is the caucus bigger than the party’s national executive, is that what they want to tell us?” he added in an interview on Ark FM monitored by GhanaWeb, on Wednesday, January 26, 2023.
The change in the leadership of the minority caucus of Parliament has led to some confusion in the NDC with some members of the party, including some Members of Parliament saying that the party’s parliamentarians should have been consulted before the move.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic who replaced the MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
The Member of Parliament for Zebila, Cletus Avoka, has stated that technically, Haruna Iddrisu is still the Minority Leader.
He explained that since parliament is not currently in session, any new move that indicates that there is a new takeover cannot be in play, making it untenable that a new person has taken over.
Speaking alongside the MP for Asawase, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, who has been ousted as the Minority Chief Whip, at a press conference to react to the new decision of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), he explained that since parliament isn’t in session, it makes that new decision a murky one.
On Tuesday, January 24, 2022, the NDC sent a letter signed by its General Secretary, Asiedu Nketiah, to the Speaker of Parliament, announcing a major shakeup in its leadership in parliament.
In the letter, the party named Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as the new minority, to be deputised by Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah.
The new Minority Chief Whip has been named Kwame Governs Agbodza, while the two Deputy Chief Whips: Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, were retained.
Samuel Nartey George, a member of parliament for Ningo Prampram, has expressed dissatisfaction with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over what he claims were insufficient consultations prior to the decision to change the leadership of its caucus in parliament.
According to Sam George, the leadership of his party failed to conduct far-reaching consultations which would have ensured adequate deliberations to save the party from the confusion that has risen from the decision.
“The problem I see MPs having, Randy, is not about the change. The problem of the caucus is not about the change; the problem of the caucus is not about the capacity of the people who are being changed; the problem of the caucus is the lack of engagement. The fact that as members of parliament we heard about a change in leadership on the radio and many of us had eggs in our faces because we said it is fake until Adabraka came out to say that yes we wrote that letter,” he stated on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Thursday, January 26, 2023.
Sam George noted that whereas the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, and the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, have argued that wide consultations were done prior to the announcement, it cannot be said to have been sufficient in this case.
“I believe that their consultations may have been done at their level but I believe that it was not far-reaching enough. I believe that a little more consultation, in this case, engagements could have happened. They consulted based on what they said publicly with members of the council of elders and stakeholders in the party. After those consultations, they proceeded to write a letter to the speaker and that is where I think the crux of the matter is,” he stated.
A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader, as replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
Some irate supporters of the National Democratic Congress on Wednesday, January 25, 2022, stormed the premise of Radio Tamale and inflicted harm on the Deputy General Secretary of the party Mustapha Gbande.
Details of the incident revealed in a publication by the radio station show that the incident happened during a live interview by Mustapha Gbande over the changes in the leadership of the party’s caucus in Parliament.
Mustapha Gbande is reported to have justified the decision by the National Executive Committee of the party on grounds that the changes were necessary for victory in the 2024 elections.
He is said to have explained that the NDC boasts competent members for leadership positions and that whenever the party feels it is suitable for changes, it will make such decisions.
According to the reports, just when Mustapha Gbande was about to wrap up his interview, some supporters believed to be from the camp of ousted Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu stormed the premises and attempted to force their way into the studio but they were repelled.
The angry supporters stayed around the premise and when Mustapha Gbande who is the deputy to Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, the man who signed the controversial release came out after the interview, they pounced on him and assaulted him before he could be whisked into his car.
The decision by the NEC of the NDC to remove Haruna Iddrisu has been expressly rejected by the supporters of the party in Tamale.
On Tuesday, the coalition of NDC supporters in Tamale gave the party an ultimatum to reverse the decision or face its wrath.
“We were warned that Asiedu Nketiah will destroy the party if he becomes the national chairman, and the changes he has made clearly show. I know that Asiedu Nketia dislikes Northerners and this development proves that indeed he dislikes us,” Alhaji Rauf, the Tamale South Constituency chair of the NDC said.
Meanwhile, close to fifty Members of Parliament (MPs) from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have signed a petition calling on the party leadership to reverse the changes made to their leaders in parliament.
Background
A former deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader, as replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
Leadership of the Minority in Parliament is allaying the fears of members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who feel uneasy about the recent changes.
Newly-elected Minority Leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, says his team is bent on reuniting its members in the House to pursue a common agender while calling on cool heads to prevail.
“I will appeal to the rank and file of our great NDC party to keep calm. Members of parliament are in good hands we will work with them in due diligence,” he said.
He made this comment at his first press conference after taking over from Haruna Iddrisu as leader of the caucus, a move that has divided the NDC legislators.
In the shake-up, MP for Ketu North, James Klutse Avedzi, and the MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak, lost their positions as Minority leader, Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.
They have been replaced by the MP for Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, MP for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Kofi Buah and MP for Adaklu, Kwame Agbodza as Minority leader, Deputy Minority leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.
But amid the controversies that followed the decision, Dr Forson explained that due diligence would be the hallmark of his leadership.
“Obviously, we are not new in this house. I’ve been in this house for 14 years. I know the capabilities of all our colleagues. Some I met, some came to meet me. I have worked closely with most of our colleagues and I can assure you that together we shall succeed,” he added.
In an interview with JoyNews on Tuesday, January 24, NDC Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia justified the reshuffle as part of the strategic restructuring of the party, from the grassroots level to the flag bearer to better position the party for victory in the 2024 elections.
However, the reshuffle has met stiff opposition from some 60 NDC MPs who say they were not consulted about the changes.
Reacting to this, the new executives have stressed that the “legitimate concerns by colleagues have been duly acknowledged.”
In a statement signed by Kwame Agbodza, the Minority Chief Whip, the newly appointed leadership revealed that a cordial and fruitful meeting had been held with the outgone Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu and that a meeting has been scheduled for Thursday morning between leadership and party executives at the party headquarters.
“That the party leadership led by the National Chairman has agreed to meet our entire caucus on Tuesday next week, specifically on the 31st of January, 2023,” the statement added.
Stan Dogbe, the Director of Communications during the John Mahama presidency has taken Ben Ephson to the cleaners over his allegation that the decision by the National Democratic Congress to oust Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak as Minority Leader and Chief Whip was the brainwork of the former president and Asiedu Nketiah.
In his reaction to the move by NDC, the Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper said that John Mahama and Asiedu Nketiah orchestrated the move because it works in their favour.
Speaking in an interview on Starr FM on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, the pollster indicated that the reasons provided by the party do not justify their actions.
“I think that it is the working of former President John Mahama and Aseidu Nketiah and I am going to wonder how the minority caucus is going to be. I suspect politically Mr. Aseidu Nketiah and John Mahama’s handiwork. Are they saying that before 2020 these economic issues were not there?
“No, I don’t think so, you see when you give this reason. You are creating the impression that before 2020 and even before these changes, Haruna and the leadership have not acquainted themselves well enough in dealing with these issues. Or is it an issue of trying to have total control over minority or minority issues in parliament?” Mr. Ephson quizzed.
He continued: “When you say there are going to be economic issues in 2024, can’t Ato Forson advise Haruna on the way forward? Or they think that Haruna cannot be nodding at everything they say because economic issues have been in the forefront in the run up issues in 2020 elections.”
In response, Stan Dogbe observed that Ben Ephson has consistently shown bias against John Dramani Mahama.
According to him, Ben Ephson’s predictions are fuelled by factors other than objectivity and actual analysis of the situation on the ground.
“This Ben Ephson man is at it again. Obviously, he has always been a shameless character so he cares less about himself when he chooses to go where his stomach leads him.
“Your sustained negatively against John Mahama will lead you no where ooo, it will not. With your credibility finally eroded as people see through your tabletop so-called research, your new found job is to be attacking and granting interviews to denigrate John Mahama.
“Me, I wish you well in your new job. Once it puts food on your table, why not. What are we in this world for. Just remember that you cannot destroy what the Lord has planned out.
We will wait for your next negative campaign against John Mahama,” he posted on Facebook.
In a Facebook post, the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam MP said, “I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen to lead our illustrious and gallant caucus in Parliament. I thank the leadership of our party who have placed their trust and confidence in me. I am also deeply grateful to colleagues, the rank and file of our party and the Ghanaian people for their profound support and solidarity”.
He said he has had some discussions with the outgoing Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, and thus commended him for his admirable stewardship.
“I have held fruitful and positive conversations with my senior brother Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. I commend him for his admirable stewardship when he was granted the opportunity by our party’s leadership,” Dr. Forson stated.
He also assured to represent the collective interest of the party.
“As a leader, it will be my duty to represent our collective goals with unwavering dedication and high integrity,” he added.
The NDC earlier this week reshuffled its leadership in Parliament replacing Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle also replaced Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed later described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying, after they claimed they were not consulted prior to the change.
Some 44 MPs signed a petition to reject the decision of the party. The 44 members believe the decision by the party is unfair and unpopular.
However, some 77 MPs have also reportedly signed a different petition to endorse the decision of the party.
The Minority MPs are supposed to meet today over the issue.
The Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Esiam, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has expressed appreciation to the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his appointment as the leader of the party’s caucus in parliament.
In a statement issued via his social media pages, the newly-appointed Minority Leader also expressed gratitude to his colleagues as well as members of the party for their support following his appointment.
“My dear friends, I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen to lead our illustrious and gallant caucus in Parliament.
“I thank the leadership of our party who have placed their trust and confidence in me.
“I am also deeply grateful to colleagues, the rank and file of our party and the Ghanaian people for their profound support and solidarity,” he wrote.
The new Minority Leader disclosed that he has already had a discussion with his predecessor, Haruna Iddrisu, following his appointment.
While asking for the support of the party, Ato Forson assured that his leadership will be directed towards representing the collective goals of the NDC and the caucus.
“I have held fruitful and positive conversations with my senior brother Hon. Haruna Iddrisu. I commend him for his admirable stewardship when he was granted the opportunity by our party’s leadership.
“As leader, it will be my duty to represent our collective goals with unwavering dedication and high integrity. I have no doubt that with your support we shall succeed.
“May God bless our efforts,” the new Minority Leader added.
A former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has been appointed as the new Minority Leader, as a replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.
Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been retained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, just as Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is still the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress and dated January 23, 2023.
The petition which started with 11 Core MPs signing this morning grew to 25, to 49 and 62 before recent update indicates 91 MPs out of 137 have so far signed.
More Members are expected to sign the petition which presents a challenge to the legitimacy of Cassiel Ato Forson, Kwame Agbodza and Emmanuel Armah Buah as new leaders to replace the deposed Haruna Iddrisu, Muntaka Mubarak and James Avedzi.
So far almost all NDC MPs hailing from all the 5 Northern Regions as well as MPs from Western, Central, Ashanti Region, Greater Accra, Bono East and Ahafo have so far signed.
A couple of NDC MPs from Volta Region who signed petition say they did so because they believe Avedzi James should continue instead of the New Armah Buah.
The few hold outs who are yet to sign the petition are mostly Volta Region MPs due to a disagreement within their caucus.
This move comes after it was revealed NDC 2020 Flagbearer and former President John Mahama rejected the move to change the leadership.
Journalist Kwesi Pratt revealed Mahama asked that the decision stalls.
“The former president did not endorse this,” he revealed based on his impression from conversations he had with top echelon of the party.
“I have spoken to many people, and from what I’m told, unless those who spoke to me are a bunch of bloody liars and so on, the former president did not appear to be very happy about this arrangement,” Mr. Pratt said on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana on Wednesday.
The Member of Parliament for Zebilla East, Cletus Apul Avoka, has raised concerns about the timing of the NDC’s leadership reshuffle in parliament.
According to him, the party should have galvanized the party for the fight against the NPP to win the 2024 elections instead of making heroes out of nonentities.
His remarks come after the party decided to replace Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Cassiel Ato Forson, MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam.
The party also replaced Deputy Minority Leader James Klutse Avedzi with Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle.
Speaking on Citi TV the lawmaker said, “this is not the time to make nobody a somebody, this is not the time to make nobody a somebody, this is the time to galvanise all of us to fight the NPP so that we can win elections not to make heroes out of nonentities, this is not the time,” Citi newsroom quoted.
Aside from Cletus Avoka, the Member of Parliament for Tamale Central also raised concerns about the party’s failure to involve the caucus in the leadership reshuffle.
According to Murtala Mohamed, the leadership reshuffle has caught everyone off guard, including those who are taking on new responsibilities.
Former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini, has said that the national executives of the party did no wrong in replacing the leadership of their parliamentarians.
According to him, the NDC national executives are not mandated to consult their Members of Parliament before choosing their leadership.
Speaking in a JoyNews interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Tuesday (January 24), Inusah said that he was an MP for a decade and at no point did the party’s leadership consult them before changing their leaders.
He added that the outgoing minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, was chosen by the party to be the minority leader without any consultation.
“I have been in parliament long enough to say on authority that not at any point was the minority leadership of parliament or the majority leadership of parliament selected by the Members of Parliament or in the selection process those members consulted.
“I went to parliament in 2006, so I met the current Speaker (of Parliament), who was doing his second term as the minority leader. I was there when we won election 2008 and tell me which Members of Parliament were consulted before the front beach of the majority was chosen.
“Or which Member of Parliament was consulted before the front beach of the minority then, the NPP, was chosen. I was in Parliament when we lost the election in 2016 and form the minority in 2017… no minority Member of Parliament was consulted when Haruna Iddrusi’s team was chosen as the leadership of the minority in Parliament,” he said.
He also said that the national executives of the NDC are not mandated by the party’s constitution to consult their MPs when making decisions on their leadership.
He added that the Standing Orders of the Parliament do not state that MPs must take part in choosing their leadership.
Inusah Fuseini, a former Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, noted that even though he is surprised by the replacement of Haruna Iddrisu, he supports the party’s decision.
Inusah Fuseini’s remarks come after some members of the NDC, including his successor, the current MP for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, criticised the party’s national executive for changing their parliamentary leadership without consulting MPs.
According to Murtala, the party cannot choose the parliamentary leadership without consulting them.
“Someone should tell some of the national executives that, they cannot choose our parliamentary leadership without consulting the caucus,” he wrote on Facebook.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Abaklu, he will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress dated January 23, 2023.
The Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has alleged that the removal of the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, as minority leader was something some members of the minority had been orchestrating for a long time.
According to him, he is not surprised by the removal of Haruna Iddrisu because members of the minority caucus have been disrespecting him for a long time.
The New Patriotic Party MP, who made these remarks in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, January 25, 2022, added that the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC’s) national leaders have not been happy with Haruna Iddrisu because of some of the things that transpired in Parliament under his leadership.
“This is a coup; I mean, you don’t miss words; this is a complete coup. And anybody who has been following the NDC’s politics in parliament will not be surprised.
“The disrespect toward Haruna didn’t start today; it has been there in Parliament, everybody knows this. And the plan to get him out has been staged for a very long time, it has just got to the climax.
“And let me read Sammy Gyamfi’s tweet or Facebook post when the ministers were approved by parliament: “Comrades the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament … the leadership of our parliamentary group, particularly Haruna Iddrisu and Hon Mubarak Muntaka, and dozens of our MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC party,” he said.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Abaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress, dated January 23, 2023.
A member of parliament representing Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah, has indicated that some minority members had been attempting to remove Haruna Iddrisu as minority leader for a long time.
According to him, he is not surprised by the removal of Haruna Iddrisu because members of the minority caucus have been disrespecting him for a long time.
The New Patriotic Party MP, who made these remarks in a Good Morning Ghana interview monitored by GhanaWeb on Wednesday, January 25, 2022, added that the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC’s) national leaders have not been happy with Haruna Iddrisu because of some of the things that transpired in Parliament under his leadership.
“This is a coup; I mean, you don’t miss words; this is a complete coup. And anybody who has been following the NDC’s politics in parliament will not be surprised.
“The disrespect toward Haruna didn’t start today; it has been there in Parliament, everybody knows this. And the plan to get him out has been staged for a very long time, it has just got to the climax.
“And let me read Sammy Gyamfi’s tweet or Facebook post when the ministers were approved by parliament: “Comrades the betrayal we have suffered in the hands of the Speaker of Parliament … the leadership of our parliamentary group, particularly Haruna Iddrisu and Hon Mubarak Muntaka, and dozens of our MPs, is what strengthens me to work hard for the great NDC party,” he said.
The NDC leadership has appointed the former Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, as the minority leader in the 8th Parliament of Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
According to the NDC, Kofi Armah Buah, MP for Ellembele, will take over as the Deputy Minority Leader.
While Kwame Governs Agbodza, MP for Abaklu, will replace Asawase MP Muntaka Mohammed as the Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Whip.
This was contained in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, from the National Democratic Congress, dated January 23, 2023.
The Senior Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG) Dr. Kwame Asah Asante says the shakeup in the leadership for the Minority caucus in Parliament was necessitated by disturbing issues in the house.
The opposition NDC has made changes to its leadership in Parliament with the appointment of Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson as the new Minority Leader.
The former Ranking Member of the Finance Committee of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Ajumako Enyan Essiam replaces Hon. Haruna Iddrisu.
Dr. Ato Forson is to be assisted by MP for Ellembele, Kofi Armah Buah who has been appointed as the Deputy Minority Leader.
Commenting on the changes made by the party on Starr News with Naa Dedei Tettey, the Political Science Lecturer said “political parties undertake such exercises in order to win power and form the next government. So, any rule that they will make in order to wrestle power from whoever is holding political power they will do it. So, for me, it doesn’t come to me as a surprise at all.
Mr. Asante also believes there might be some happenings within the opposition party that caused this immediate change of leadership with the Minority.
“It’s gradually appearing to me that there is something that is going on in Parliament that the leadership of the party is not happy of, for which reason they want to make this change and the time that they are meeting is more significant. More often than not, you tend to see such changes when Parliament is about to start a sitting. But now that they are in recess and this thing comes in then you realize that there is something that is pushing them into doing that”, the lecturer reiterated.
The NDC party has also appointed Adaklu MP, Governs Kwame Agbodza as the new Minority Chief Whip. He replaced Asawase MP, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak.
Both Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe Ghansah maintained their position as deputy Minority Whips.
Despite criticism from its own members, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has defended the restructuring of its leadership in Parliament.
The party said the decision is apt and works best for collective other than individual interests.
Following the removal of Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, many have described the news as surprising because they claim the party failed to broadly consult for a consensus to be reached accusing the leadership of taking a unilateral decision.
But General Secretary of the NDC, Fiifi Kwetey while speaking on Eyewitness News discredited such assertions insisting that those who mattered were contacted for the necessary inputs.
“This decision was taken after wide consultation. If you look at the apex leadership of the party, that consultation was done. In terms of parliamentary, the group that is widely consulted, that consultation has been done.”
“What needed to be done about this reshuffling was done and the people duly consulted. All the key leaders have been consulted. The former President, Mahama was consulted and his views duly reflected. The new and old leaders were informed and consulted”, he emphasized.
Several NDC MPs including MP for Bolgatanga East, Dominic Ayine and Tamale Central MP, Murtala Muhammed have described the leadership changes as undemocratic and deeply worrying since no consultations were held with the Minority caucus.
The former Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka has also called on the party to immediately reverse the decision, describing it as unpopular and unfortunate.
Some NDC party supporters in Tamale South have also given the party a 24-hour ultimatum to rescind the decision or face their wrath.
But Fifi Kwetey in response said the decision has been taken and will not be reversed.
He said the party will proceed with the leadership changes when Parliament resumes in February.
“The leadership of the party at the highest level has taken a decision and that is just what it is. You cannot set up a precedent where decisions by the leadership of the party are now going to be an issue of the caucus. The leadership of the party in Parliament is appointed by the leadership of the party. It is not something that is done by the caucus of the party”.
He added that the party only had to inform Haruna Iddrisu of the decision and not consult him on his removal.
Justifying the decision, the NDC chief scribe said the regional balance of swing regions and the economic issues ahead of the 2024 election, were highly factored in the decision.
“It is an integral part of the process of preparing ourselves for the next general elections. A process of reorganization has been ongoing. We are looking at having the process continue ahead of the parliamentary and presidential primaries. We believe that as part of the process, the next election is going to revolve around matters of the economy.”
“It’s going to be an economic battle and as part of the process, with consultation with leadership at the highest level, we thought that involves how best to even change the parliamentary leadership and have a leader whose domain and forte has to do with the economy to be able to lead that whole process. So this is a very important consideration.”
The NDC in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, dated Monday, January 23, stated that it had decided to replace Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu with Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.
Other changes include Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle who has been brought in to replace Ketu North MP, James Klutse Avedzi as the Deputy Minority Leader while Kwame Governs Agbodza has also replaced Asawase MP, Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Chief Whip.
Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah have, however, maintained their positions as First and Second deputy Whips respectively.
There is increasing pressure on the National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Democratic Congress to change its decision of reconstructing the NDC caucus in Parliament.
Some two MPs on the ticket of the NDC have spoken publicly against the decision by NEC and are demanding the immediate reinstatement of Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak as Minority Leader and Minority Chief Whip respectively.
The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammad was the first MP to issue an angry reaction to the decision by NEC.
Speaking on Asempa FM, Murtala Muhammaed expressed the hope that the decision will be reversed and that Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak will have their roles handed back to them.
According to him the caucus is happy with the performance of the Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka and would want them reinstated.
“The timing is completely wrong. What is the basis for changing our parliamentary leadership?
“They are only taking away the most experienced leaders and bringing the less experienced ones. Nobody told them we are dissatisfied with the leadership. Who told them we are unhappy with their performance,” he said.
Cletus Avoka, the Member of Parliament for Zebilla East Constituency questioned the timing of the decision and rationale behind it.
“Our focus should be a collective effort against the NPP for the next two years. Now you are going to have low morale in Parliament. The new leadership will now have to learn to ride leadership both in Parliament and the outside world and that will require time. That will retard the progress of the NDC in its bid to regain power from the NPP in 2024.
“This is unstrategic and didn’t have to come out at this time. We need the effort of everybody to fight for the 2024 elections. The timing was not the best. I will recommend that the NEC will withdraw the letter and reinstate them and also want the new leadership to step down in the interest of the caucus.”
The Tamale South Constituency Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abdul Rauf has also rejected the decision of the NEC, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Haruna Iddrisu.
“We would not accept this decision. Asiedu Nketiah is responsible for this. Asiedu Nketiah, I want to remind you today, when you became the general secretary, you did not have a pesewa to give to anybody but we gave the chairmanship to you.
“Now you are a big man, you want to punish people. What nonsense. If you are national chairman and so what. Asiedu Nketiah, I want to tell you, I am the constituency chairman, I don’t care about you or Fifi Kwetey,” he said.
Meanwhile Joy New is reporting that the National Executive Council of party will meet the minority caucus in the coming days to iron out issues arising out of the move.
Some supporters of the National Democratic Congress in Tamale in the Northern Region have massed up at the party’s regional office over the surprising shake-up in the party’s parliamentary leadership.
JoyNews’ Regional Correspondent, Martina Bugri reports that the supporters say the decision will not augur well for the party. They want the leadership of the party to rescind the decision or face their wrath.
In a terse message announcing the changes on Tuesday, the party said Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson takes over from Haruna Iddrisu as the Minority Leader, while Ellembelle MP, Kofi Armah Boah replaces James Klutse Avedzi as Deputy Minority Leader.
In a statement signed by NDC General Secretary Fifi Kwetey, Kwame Agbodza becomes the Chief Whip for the opposition side and will be deputised by Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim and Ada legislator, Comfort Doyo Ghansah respectively.
The former Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak has been in Parliament for close to 20 years. Thus, their removal is being opposed by Tamale Central MP who believes the party is only bringing in inexperienced legislators to steer the affairs of the Minority Caucus.
He said the party ought to have consulted the leadership in Parliament before taking such a decision.
“The timing is completely wrong. What is the basis of changing our parliamentary leadership?”, Murtala Mohammed decried.
“They are only taking away the most experienced leaders and bringing the less experienced ones. Nobody told them we are dissatisfied with the leadership.
“Who told them we are unhappy with their performance?”, the disgruntled lawmaker quizzed.
National Chairman for the National Democracy Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has cleared the air on the removal of Haruna Iddrisu and Muntaka Mubarak as the Minority Leader and Minority Chief Whip, respectively.
He says contrary to public speculations, the decision has nothing to do with the performances of the two.
Rather, “what it has to do with is the changing environment, the changing times and the changing field,” he said in an interview with JoyNews monitored by The Independent Ghana on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, the day both persons were relieved of their posts.
The Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu, is no longer the leader of the Minority Caucus in parliament. Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak, has also been relieved of his position.
According to a letter from the NDC to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, announcing the decision, MP for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, Cassiel Ato Forson, is now Minority Leader.
The Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi, has also been replaced with Kofi Armah Buah.
MP for Adaklu Constituency, Kwame Governs Agbodza, is now the Minority Chief Whip, who will be assisted by Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyo-Ghansah who remain Deputy Chief Whips of the party.
Former Deputy Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, will now lead the Minority side in Parliament to discuss government business.
Dr Ato Forson takes over from Haruna Iddrisu, the Tamale South MP.
The change in leadership was announced by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in a letter to the Speaker of Parliament
Dr Forson would be assisted by Mr Kofi Armah Buah, the new Deputy Minority leader who takes over from Mr Klutse Avedzi.
Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka is no longer the Deputy Minority Chief Whip. That position is now occupied by Kwame Agbodza, who will be assisted by Banda MP, Ahmed Ibrahim and Ada legislator, Comfort Doyo Ghansah respectively.
The NDC is yet to reveal the rational behind the changes, but it is reported that some members of the NDC are against the leadership’s decision.
The Minority in Parliament is set to embark on a series of meetings with investors and individual bondholders across the country over the government’s Domestic Debt Exchange (DDE) programme.
Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu announced the nationwide roadshows to look at the poor qualities of the DDE programme while interacting with the press on Monday.
“We wish to take this opportunity to indicate our intention to embark on nationwide roadshows to foster a deeper understanding of this matter and rally Ghanaians to demand a more favorable resolution of the economic crisis,” he said.
The Minority’s stance on the programme is gloom-ridden as they believe that the government’s initiative “will leave affected persons, mainly the middle class, improvised while worsening the plight of the poor.”
“The inclusion of individual bondholders in the Domestic Debt Exchange is the biggest transfer of funds from the pockets of Ghanaians to the government,” Mr Iddrisu further lamented.
The Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, which is a voluntary exercise, seeks to classify domestic bonds into 12 categories. Government has increased the new bonds offered by adding eight new instruments to the composition of the new bonds, for a total of 12 new bonds, one maturing each year starting January 2027 and ending January 2038.
It is offering accrued and unpaid interest on eligible bonds, and a cash tender fee payment to holders of eligible bonds maturing in 2023.
“The Exchange Consideration Ratio applicable to eligible bonds maturing in 2023 will be different from other eligible bonds,” the government has stated.
The government has extended the expiration date of the Domestic Debt Exchange programme from Monday, 16th January 2023 to Tuesday, 31st January 2023.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the period before the expiration date of the programme will be used to further engage stakeholders especially individual bondholders to mitigate any adverse impacts they may face.
Already, the Ministry noted that important discussions are ongoing with financial institutions, notably in relation to forbearance measures, accounting treatment, as well as the structure and parameters of the Ghana Financial Stability Fund (GFSF).
Leader of the Minority in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has revealed that his side of the House is working to subject the debt exchange programme to legal scrutiny.
Speaking to the media, he noted that Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta may have breached Article 181(5) of the Constitution, which requires the government to seek approval from Parliament before announcing any haircut on all government bonds, loans, and instruments.
“We are even beginning to elevate this matter to a legal constitutional matter as to whether or not the Minister of Finance, suo moto, by himself as an individual can undo what the sovereign Parliament of Ghana has done pursuant to Article 181(5) of the constitution,” he said.
“All those loans, all those bonds, all those instruments whose terms and conditions were approved by Parliament, including the debt of domestic bonds, contractual relationships have been entered into. How can the Finance Minister allocate to himself the mandate to do this even without providing information to Parliament or with its prior approval?” he questioned.
Article 181(5) of the 1992 Constitution requires that all international business or economic transactions to which the government is a party must be laid before Parliament for approval before they can come into effect.
Mr Iddrisu, therefore, urged the government to halt ongoing processes related to its debt exchange program, which is intended to keep the country from defaulting on its debt.
At a press conference on Monday, Mr Iddrisu noted that there is “total confusion, rejection, and disapproval of the initiative” since it was launched by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in December last year.
According to him, the opposition is justified since the programme poses a major risk to financial institutions, insurance companies, as well as individual bondholders who have recently been included in the programme.
“The programme will exacerbate the already perilous financial sector that we have in Ghana,” he added.
The Tamale South legislator, therefore, said, “We in the NDC, the Minority group, call on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to immediately suspend the ongoing debt exchange programme.”
In an attempt to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has proposed that all bondholders will not receive any interest in 2023.
As per government estimates, dividends will begin to be paid next year, in 2024, at a discounted rate of 5%. Due to this, bondholders who wish to transfer their bonds will not be able to get back their full principal.
The proposal, however, has been rejected by many bondholders since its announcement. Their view is that if the proposal is implemented, they will suffer a great deal of loss, and some may even lose money on their investments.
The Minority’s call seeks to add to the numerous voices urging the government to restrain from implementing the debt exchange programme. Mr Haruna Iddrisu believes that unemployment will heighten and support for the private sector will dwindle if the programme is implemented in its current state.
In the meantime, the government has extended the deadline for the domestic debt exchange programme to January 31, 2022. This is the fourth time the government has extended its deadline, and according to the Finance Ministry, the programme has been suspended yet again due to “pending further stakeholder engagement with institutional and individual investors.”
The leader of the minority caucus of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has said that the House failed Ghanaians in 2022.
He explained that the house failed Ghanaians because it did not check the unbridled borrowing of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
Haruna Iddrisu, who said this in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the huge debt accumulated by the government is the cause of the economic challenges in the country now.
“Where the country is today, you will hear everybody talking about unsustainable debt. It means we overborrowed. We borrowed excessively.
“Parliament, under Article 181 of the Constitution, exercises that mandate (to check the executive) for and on behalf of the people of Ghana. So, it simply means that Parliament has failed the people of Ghana. We didn’t hold the executive to check to say that don’t borrow any longer or borrow at this limit.
“We all know that when debt exceeds 70 percent of GDP you are debt distressed. So now Ghana is a debt-distressed high-risk country,” he said.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, however, indicated that the minority caucus cannot be blamed for failing to hold the executive in check.
“There are those who have been very critical of the minority including me, saying that why did we pass the budget. It was because we don’t want the country to come to a standstill. A budget means a lot not just for government or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but for citizens,” he added.
The leader of the minority caucus of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has said that the House failed Ghanaians in 2022.
He explained that the house failed Ghanaians because it did not check the unbridled borrowing of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government.
Haruna Iddrisu, who said this in a TV3 interview monitored by GhanaWeb, added that the huge debt accumulated by the government is the cause of the economic challenges in the country now.
“Where the country is today, you will hear everybody talking about unsustainable debt. It means we overborrowed. We borrowed excessively.
“Parliament, under Article 181 of the Constitution, exercises that mandate (to check the executive) for and on behalf of the people of Ghana. So, it simply means that Parliament has failed the people of Ghana. We didn’t hold the executive to check to say that don’t borrow any longer or borrow at this limit.
“We all know that when debt exceeds 70 percent of GDP you are debt distressed. So now Ghana is a debt-distressed high-risk country,” he said.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament for Tamale South, however, indicated that the minority caucus cannot be blamed for failing to hold the executive in check.
“There are those who have been very critical of the minority including me, saying that why did we pass the budget. It was because we don’t want the country to come to a standstill. A budget means a lot not just for government or the New Patriotic Party (NPP) but for citizens,” he added.
