NPP selects Mike Oquaye as Speaker for eighth parliament
Professor Oquaye will be the second Speaker in the Fourth Republic to serve two terms, after D F Annan, who was Speaker from 1993 to 2001
The National Council of the New Patriotic Party has opted to retain Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye as Speaker for the eighth parliament of the Fourth Republic. The NPP announced the decision after a meeting on Monday (4 January 2020).
“The issue of Speaker: yes, [it came up]. The president and Council believe that, considering the slimmest nature of [the NPP’s majority in] Parliament – only one more than our opponents – we need consistency, somebody that will not create any friction whatsoever…we will be prepared to go with the current Speaker [Professor Mike Oquaye],” John Boadu, general secretary of the NPP, told the press on Monday.
Boadu added: “After thorough discussion of the various positions, Council agreed that Honourable Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu should be the Majority Leader. He is to be deputised by Honourable Alex Afenyo-Markin.
The Chip Whip is Honourable Frank Annoh-Dompreh, MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri constituency … The two deputy whips [are] Honourable Seyram Alhassan, who is the MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon, and Honourable Habib Iddrisu, the MP for Tolon.
“These are the decisions that Council came to, about the leadership of our parliamentary caucus,” he said.
Aaron Mike Oquaye, 76, served as Second Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana between 2009 and 2013.
A member of the New Patriotic Party, he was the MP for Dome-Kwabenya from 2005 to 2013.
He was Ghana’s high commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and then energy minister from 2005 to 2006. He also served as minister of communications from 2006 to 2009.
The seventh parliament of the Fourth Republic will be dissolved at the stroke of midnight on the morning of Thursday (7 January 2021).
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