We trusted the NPP during the election of deputy speakers, but they tricked us - Asiedu Nketia

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has accused the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) of using tricks to have the two deputy speakers of parliament elected for the 8th parliament.

According to him, although the NPP had pleaded with the NDC parliamentarians for those two choices to be made, they used a “tricky” approach despite the NDC’s good faith and interest in the country’s parliamentary democracy.

Speaking at the 40th Anniversary commemoration of the 31st December Revolution in Accra last Friday, the NDC’s chief scribe said, “The leadership of NPP came to Parliament and actually came to beg us to allow them to select a first deputy speaker and in the end, the word was sent from the Presidency that they are also begging, so we agreed. Still, they persisted and virtually begged us that they do not want to disgrace Ghana.”

“NDC does not want this country destroyed, so we agreed. Immediately, we agreed, the first statement that came from Osei-Kyei-Mensah after the swearing-in was that, we begged them and that there was no election in Parliament to select a first deputy speaker.”

“Those of you accusing NDC of not being interested in negotiations should listen carefully. As if that was not enough, immediately after the second deputy speaker was selected, he also addressed the press and declared his support for the NPP. What does that mean? [It meant] that the NPP used tricks to select the two deputy speakers.”