- "I heard the president, since the election he himself publicly said they will reach out and cooperate, may I ask what has he done since the election to reach out to the National Democratic Congress and to John Mahama and the leadership of the NDC in the spirit of building these consensus and cooperation."
Haruna Iddrisu, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has faulted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for failing to reach out to his main opponent, John Dramani Mahama, and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the spirit of co-operation after the 2020 elections.
Addressing a news conference in Accra in the lead-up to the dissolution of the seventh parliament later today (6 January), Iddrisu said it is crucial that Akufo-Addo fulfil his promise to build consensus, improving the atmosphere in Ghana after the elections.
“The 2020 election, in my view, produced an inevitable outcome of no majority in Parliament: 137-137. How does that serve Ghanaians?” the MP for Tamale South asked.
“Excessive partisanship”
“As I said yesterday, my own view is that the Ghanaian people are not happy about the polarisation, the divisiveness, the excessive partisanship in this country. They want to see the opportunities of this country shared to every Ghanaian regardless of their political party,” the Minority Leader said.
“I heard the president, since the election: he himself publicly said they will reach out and co-operate. May I ask what has he done since the election to reach out to the National Democratic Congress and to John Mahama and the leadership of the NDC in the spirit of building this consensus and co-operation?”
The Tamale South MP stressed that he is yet to witness any such gesture from the president since the December election.
“I haven’t seen any concrete step taken by the president, but it is important that he does that,” Iddrisu argued.
However, he expressed anxiety about the possible inability to pass certain bills speedily in the seventh parliament because of the time factor.
“Spirit of litigation”
Meanwhile, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has commended the Minority Leader for what he describes as his “spirit of litigation”.
He described the seventh parliament as the most successful, having passed over 230 bills. The Suame MP said no other parliament so far been able to pass over 100 bills.
He singled out certain MPs, including Inusah Fuseini (Tamale Central), Joseph Yieleh Chireh (Wa West) and Ben Abdallah Banda (Offinso South), for their immense contribution to the passage of bills in the House.
Fred Dzakpata
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