Former General Secretary of CPP, Nana Yaa Jantuah
Nana Yaa Jantuah, a former General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for disrespecting the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
Speaking during a recent panel discussion on Joy News, she emphasised that the Speaker has been accommodating government business despite the lack of a clear Majority in Parliament.
“In Parliament, there is no majority. That is why the Speaker said he has bent backwards for government business to thrive. 137, 137, there should be no argument over it. Number 2, when you go into the NPP constitution itself, Article 93, it says categorically that if you go against the person the party has selected to be a Member of Parliament, you forfeit your rights. Automatically, you are gone. Automatically is immediate.
“When Afenyo-Markin went for interpretation, why didn’t the court say it means A, B, C, D? Do you get me?” she explained.
Nana Yaa Jantuah compared Bagbin’s role to that of Nancy Pelosi in the United States, noting that despite being from a different party, Pelosi commanded respect from President Trump due to her powerful position.
She said that Bagbin, despite being from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), should be respected for his office as Speaker.
“Bagbin is the Speaker of Parliament. One person Trump really feared as president was Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House.
“Nancy Pelosi was somebody who Trump was afraid of as a woman, and knowing Trump how chauvinistic he was, he was afraid of Nancy Pelosi,” she added.
She expressed frustration that Bagbin is being treated as if he lacks the wisdom or experience required for his position.
“He is the Speaker of Parliament. You should give him some respect. We have separation of powers. I think what we have done wrong is that we need to go back and look at our constitution. We need to separate the executive from the legislature.
“You see, we shouldn’t treat Bagbin as if he is a small boy. The fact that Bagbin is NDC doesn’t make him any less in the position in which he is,” she said.
Reflecting on her first encounter with Bagbin in the early 1990s, Nana Yaa praised his eloquence and sharp intellect, recalling how his well-crafted speech left a lasting impression on her.
“The first time I encountered Bagbin was in 1992/1993, when I was working at the GIPC as a young girl. and he was on a talking point programme and the kind of grammar. This man weaved the grammar so well, and I picked a book and I started writing. If I said he weaved the grammar so well, it means it made sense what he said.
“We are treating Bagbin as if he doesn’t really know what he is about. We are treating Bagbin as if he didn’t even think through what he did. When there were positions of vacancy in the Supreme Court, who came out to say it should be filled?” she asked.
Her comments follow the Supreme Court’s ruling that the declaration of four seats in Parliament vacant by Alban Bagbin is unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the apex court upheld a suit by the Majority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, which sought a constitutional interpretation of Article 97 (1)(g) and (h) of the Constitution.
JKB/AE
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