The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says it will soon make changes in its leadership in Parliament
This, the party says, is in line with its practices after every general election.
However, the changes have not been made in this current eighth Parliament due to the NDC’s ongoing legal disputes of some parliamentary seats in the 2020 polls, the party’s General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said.
“There is some work in progress. After every election, we reconstitute the leadership of Parliament even if it means reconfirming them. We haven’t done that yet because of the court cases. We started but got to a point and felt that we need to finish with the court cases first. So it is something we are considering. But there will be a definite statement. I am sure by the time, they [Parliament] return from the break, we would have taken this decision”, he disclosed on Face to Face on Citi TV.
After the NPP and NDC split the seats in the House, it was the expectation of many Ghanaians there will be proper checks and balances especially on matters of national interest.
But the recent approval 2021 budget and the approval of poorly performing ministerial nominees have among other things put the side’s ability to properly put the government on its toes serious doubts.
Many have therefore put pressure on the NDC to shake up its leaders.
Even the Speaker, Alban Bagbin has not been spared.
There were some accusations of betrayal levelled against him and some members of the Minority caucus in Parliament by the National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi after the approval of three of Akufo-Addo’s ministerial by nominees whom the party had earlier blacklisted.
After some backlash, the party urged its supporters to remain calm and offer the needed help to its parliamentarians to help ensure they keep the Akufo-Addo government in check.
Touching on concerns that the Minority caucus in the Parliament did not represent the party’s interest by approving all ministerial nominees of President Akufo-Addo, Johnson Nketiah admitted that the development was problematic.
“We were all worried about our side passing some of the nominees. We thought that this was the time for us to exact accountability from them, but things didn’t work out the way we expected. It nearly created a problem for our leadership and the leadership in parliament. We were just shocked that all of them had been passed. But it was a collective failure.”
Mr. Asiedu Nketiah also says there is a high possibility things will change for the better in the coming days.
He said the party still has high hopes of becoming the majority in parliament after the adjudication of the court cases.
“We have eight cases in court now, so we are very confident that our majority status will be restored after the adjudication of those cases. If it flips now, the Haruna will become the majority leader, and it will change a lot in the house. Unless there is executive pressure on the court, we believe in the strength of our cases. We are keenly following what is happening, and we are very positive”, he said.
