The Speaker of Parliament has firmly denied allegations of meeting with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo outside Ghana.
This statement was issued in response to claims made by former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, suggesting that the Speaker, Bagbin, had a meeting with the President in Dubai prior to the rejection of the 2021 budget by Parliament.
On May 28, 2024, the Office of the Speaker released a statement labelling the accusations as “malicious” and “a palpable falsehood.”
The statement also clarified the Speaker’s role in parliamentary procedures, countering Amidu’s suggestion that Bagbin attempted to influence a situation beyond his authority.
“The Rt. Hon. Speaker requests Mr. Amidu to do the honourable thing and withdraw his statements and apologize unreservedly to the Speaker of Parliament and indeed the Parliament of Ghana, with the same prominence as he made the false and malicious statements, within seven days from the date of the release of this rejoinder,” the statement read.
It further warned, “The failure of Mr. Amidu to adhere to this request would leave the Rt. Hon. Speaker to no other option than to take steps necessary within his rights to vindicate his name.” The statement concluded with a signature from Peter Bamfo, Head of the Speaker’s Communications Unit.
Amidu’s Accusations:
In a letter criticizing the National Democratic Congress (NDC), its 2024 flagbearer, and national chairman, Amidu wrote: “Asiedu Nketiah and John Mahama, did your self-confessed corrupt Speaker of Parliament not meet the President in Dubai in 2021 before he returned to Parliament to turn a closed eye to his own determination that rejected the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of Government?
Did you not see, observe, and read the reaction and excitement amongst your Minority Leader and his team after meeting the President on 20 May 2024?”