Former President John Dramani Mahama, the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), played a pivotal role in persuading the Minority Caucus not to boycott President Akufo-Addo’s penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) to Parliament.
According to the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, if not for the timely intervention of the former President, the NDC caucus would have failed to show up in the Chamber on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, for the SONA.
The Minority held President Akufo-Addo in a political hostage situation for some hours, demanding the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) as well as his assurance to assent to some crucial bills before they would enter the chamber for the address.
But after a closed-door meeting with Mr Mahama, the NDC MPs rescinded their decision and filed into the chamber.
“After listening to the quintessential Statesman, John Dramani Mahama, we have out of respect to him and our Constituents returned to the Chamber to listen to the State of the Nation Address,” Sam George said on his Twitter handle.
The Minority Caucus has just finished a meeting with @JDMahama and our National Chairman paving way for the Caucus to return to the Chamber for #SONA24.
Our grievance with President @NAkufoAddo stems from his disrespect for the work Parliament does relative to Private Members…
— Sam 'Dzata' George 🦁🇬🇭 (@samgeorgegh) February 27, 2024
Speaking exclusively to newsalertgh.com shortly after, the Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, expressed the dissatisfaction of the Minority with several decisions made by the Government. He emphasized the importance of Parliament’s role in thoroughly scrutinizing bills before they become law, followed by the President’s assent.
“The President, for example, is holding the Witchcraft Bill and has signalled certain Bills that he intends not to sign, that is an affront to the Parliament of Ghana,” he said.
“And we wanted to really let him know that in this Parliament he can’t trample on us, we represent the people of Ghana.”
“But obviously after engagement with the Leader of our Party, we decided to come back. But at least he (the President) heard the message that we are not going to allow him to trample upon the independence of Parliament.”
The absence of the Minority in the Chamber when President Akufo-Addo arrived around 10:00 AM resulted in a delay of approximately one hour in the commencement of parliamentary business. However, following behind-the-scenes negotiations and engagements led by former President Mahama, the NDC Minority began to enter the Chamber around 11:00 AM, gradually filling their side before the commencement of the SONA at approximately 11:45 AM.
After an intervention from the flagbearer of the NDC John Mahama, the minority shows up in parliament for the 2024 State of the Nation Address.#SONA2024 #TV3GH pic.twitter.com/NuDu1mqNUr
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) February 27, 2024
