The MPs who resigned to take on ‘higher’ offices
Running for a seat in Ghana’s Parliament is a difficult and resource-intensive undertaking, well beyond the demands of a typical political campaign.
The current Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, in 2017, while he was still an MP, bemoaned the amount of money one needs to effectively campaign for a seat in Ghana’s Parliament.
This concern was also shared by Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi, the former MP for Anyaa-Sowutuom, who estimated that parliamentary candidates spend an average of GH¢10 million on their campaigns.
With the amount of money involved in political campaigns, besides the hustle and bustle, winning a seat in Parliament must certainly be fulfilling, especially with the ‘Honourable’ title it comes with.
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Actors in the space have observed that spending so much and fighting so hard to get into Parliament, only to consider resigning, could therefore be baffling.
Yet, a number of notable Ghanaians have left the MP job, just months after their rigorous elections, for other opportunities.
Here is a list of people who ditched their MP seats for other jobs:
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas in 2002, resigned from Parliament to take on the role of the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Dr Ibn Chambas was the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Bimbilla from 1993 before his resignation — serving for about 10 years in the House.
He served in different roles in the diplomatic community after leaving Parliament, including United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Head of UNOWAS, UN SRSG and Head of the Joint UN-AU Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (2010-2012) and President of ECOWAS.
Dr Ibn Chambas holds degrees in political science from the University of Ghana, Legon, and a master’s from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, as well as a Juris Doctor law degree from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni also resigned from Parliament less than five months after winning the Kumbungu seat in the 2012 election to take on a position as the Executive Secretary of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP/EU) in 2013.
Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni was the representative of the people of Kumbungu from January 1997 to January 2004.
He did not contest in the 2004 election because he was the running mate of the late Prof John Evans Atta Mills, the NDC candidate for the 2004 election.
After sitting out of Parliament for eight years, Alhaji Mumuni contested the Kumbungu seat again in 2012, which he won before leaving for the ACP/EU appointment.
He has served in various roles in NDC governments, including Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He holds an LLB from the University of Ghana and a barrister-at-law qualification from the Ghana School of Law.
Edward Korbly Doe Adjaho stopped being the representative of the people of Akatsi South after he won the election to be the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, a role he served for four years (January 7, 2013, to January 7, 2017).
Until he was elected Speaker, Doe Adjaho served as the MP for Akatsi South (Avenor-Ave) from 1993 to 2013.
Doe Adjaho, who is currently the Chairman of the Council of State, previously played different roles in NDC governments and Parliament, including being Deputy Minority Leader, Minority Chief Whip and Majority Chief Whip.
He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Ghana and a barrister-at-law qualification from the Ghana School of Law.
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Robert Nachinab Mosore
The current Paramount Chief of Talensi in the Upper East Region, Tongo-Raana Kolbilsong Namalteng, known in private life as Robert Nachinab Mosore, had to resign from Parliament after his enskinment in 2015.
Robert Nachinab was the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Talensi from 2013 after winning the 2012 parliamentary election.
He represented the people of Talensi for about three years before he was enskinned as Paramount Chief.
He holds a degree from the University of Cape Coast and a master’s degree in Environmental Management and Policy from the same university.
BAI/VPO
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