The Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin has stated that, he does not want people to expect him to be neutral in the discharge of his duties.
Speaking during a visit by the Council of State, Mr. Bagbin said, “in the performance of my functions, I will be impartial, but that doesn’t mean I will be neutral.”
He explained that, he has good friends from the majority (NPP) side and that, he doesn’t expect either party to be praising him
This notwithstanding, Mr. Bagbin admitted that he would always have an interest in issues that come before him.
“Any matter that comes before the house, I cannot be neutral because I have an interest in it, but in performing my duty as a Speaker, I have to be impartial,” he said.
Mr. Bagbin became the first-ever Speaker of Parliament from an opposition party in 2021 and currently overseeing the first hang parliament in this republic
During the meeting, the Council of State, expressed concerned about the recent turn of events in Parliament, that have involved brawls between legislators.
Tensions have risen in the house over proposals of passing the controversial e-levy
The chairman of the council, Nana Otuo Siriboe stated however that, they were ready to play a mediation role.
“We feel that it is bent and not broken and that it can be mended,” he said.
“However, developments in Parliament have given us a feeling that our hope may not be realised and that if we as the Council of State do not give you the support, we pledged you and sat down for things to go haywire, we will equally be accused of not doing our work as expected of us by the people of Ghana.”
