Bagbin to new Minority leadership: Don’t Be Troubled! … I will support you
Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament
The Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has told the newly appointed leaders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority Group in the legislature not to be troubled in the discharge of their duties.
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He said should they encounter any difficulty in their line of duty, they should not hesitate to knock at his door, since he is always available to assist them to succeed.
According to him, grooming and nurturing young politicians to take up the mantle of leadership has been his passion as a father, referencing his immense contributions in the lives of many Members of Parliament (MPs) who have risen to the top and occupying various key positions.
“ I have brought up some, campaigned for them, worked for them to become Members of Parliament and when they joined me, I did everything possible for them – to empower them; groom them; mentor them and to give them opportunities. This is how far we’ve come”, he noted.
He added, “I gave, yes, an iota of advice and I want all of you to abide by it. I have gone through it myself and with maturity, I have benefitted a lot. On many occasions, I went launching their campaigns. On some occasions, I had to campaign to make sure that they won.
Today, where I passed is where they have passed through. And it’s my duty and my responsibility to make sure that those coming after me performs better than me. That is when you talk about development and growth. Your son or daughter must do better than you and that is my responsibility.
I owe it to all of you for reciprocating and making it possible for me to be Speaker of this House. I will never forget what happened that day and I want to assure you of my continuous support and guidance even if I am not the Speaker of this House. So, please don’t be troubled at all”.
Speaker Bagbin made these firm assurances when he welcomed the new leaders of the NDC Minority Group in Parliament on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
This was after the new Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson had expressed his appreciation to the NDC for elevating him and his other colleagues to lead their parliamentary caucus.
The Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam legislator, while addressing the House for the first time, assured the Speaker that he would collaborate effectively with him in the discharge of his duties to ensure the deepening of parliamentary democracy in the country.
He, however, cautioned that his leadership will not entertain any lackadaisical attitude on the part of government officials and institutions and that, they would assiduously put the government in proper check.
He also assured that his leadership will not countenance any bad governance from the Akufo-Addo-led government.
He also added that the caucus remains firm, resolute and principled in its journey to discharge its oversight duties.
The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, on his part, told the House that it was important to put it on record that the outgone Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, was not a sell-out or compromised his stance to the Majority Caucus.
According to him, the duty of the Minority Leader is to assist the Majority Leader to facilitate government business in the House, a role, he noted, was religiously carried out by Haruna Iddrisu.
Do not deny your children access to education -Rev. Ntim Fordjour
The Deputy Minister for Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has advised parents not to deny their children access to education no matter the circumstances they may find themselves.
He explained that irrespective of the kind of work they did and the kind of conditions they may find themselves in, there was no way they should use such conditions as an excuse to prevent their children and wards from access to education which held the key to their future dreams.
Rev. Fordjour gave the advice on Saturday at a durbar of chiefs and people of Gomoa Akropong No. 2 in the Gomoa Central District of the Central region.
The durbar was to climax week- long activities for the celebration of their annual Akwambo festival by the chiefs and people of the area.
The event which had the theme “ working together to seek peace and development for Akropong No. 2” brought together people from all walks of life.
Some of the activities which took place during the week were a health walk, candle possession, born fire, cooking competition, inter- area football competition, inter- schools quiz competition, dancing competition and the coronation of chiefs in a palanquin before the durbar.
Peaceful co-existence
Rev. Ntim Fordjour praised the chiefs and people of the area for their roles played in leading to the maintenance of peace in the area over the years and urged them to continue living in peace with one another.
He assured the people of the government’s commitment to partner with all stakeholders in the country towards the development of the country through education.
The Deputy Minister announced that the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government would continue to work hard to ensure that all children of school-going age benefitted from education.
Equal access
“The government desires that both children of the rich and the poor would both have equal access to education hence the various interventions to ensure that all children had access to education irrespective of ethnic, political, religious among other affiliations”. He said.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour appealed to all parents to strive to complement the government to ensure that their children stayed in school till they completed by providing them with their basic needs like bags, and clothing among others.
The Odikro of Gomoa Akropong, Nana Odum Amanfo IV, commended the people of the area for their support towards the maintenance of peace in the town and called for them to maintain the peace in the area.
He also eulogized the government for its support for the development of education in the area but called for more support to ensure that many more youths got access to education.
The Odikro recounted the various initiatives implemented by the traditional council to ensure that all children in the communities around the area took their education seriously.
Prioritise education
Nana Dr Agyarkwah Akyen II, Mankrado of Gomoa Akropong ( known in private life as Dr David Annan-Bonney), charged the chiefs and people of the area to prioritise education in all that they do since that was the legacy every parent can bequeath to their children.
He charged the youth to have good role models and work hard towards attaining higher laurels like them or even beyond.
The Deputy Education Minister used the occasion to donate 15 pianos to some Senior High Schools in the area and stationery to some Basic Schools to boost effective teaching and learning in their schools.
