General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Johnson Asiedu Nketia has descended heavily on those against his appointment to the Parliamentary Service Board, saying their reasons are untenable.
He disclosed that he is getting the opportunity to serve on the Board, not as a party official but because he has 12 years of parliamentary experience behind him.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia was on Monday, March 29 named one of the four nominees of Speaker of Parliament to serve on the Board. The other board members are Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, and former Member of Parliament for Tema West Abraham Ossei Aidooh
Alban Bagbin was defensive of the nomination of his party’s General Secretary, saying it was not unprecedented.
“I want to note that the former Parliamentary Service Board had Honorable Hackman Owusu Agyeman as a member of the board and Hackman Owusu Agyeman later became the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP),” he told the House.
“That one was not an intrusion into the governance of Parliament by a political party. What is good for the gander is also good for the goose. Honorable members the board will be constituted and we will start our work.”
In an interview with Dzifa Gbeho-Bampoh on Tuesday, March 30, General Mosquito, as the man at the centre of the controversy is popularly known, said there is nothing wrong with his appointment and there will not be any conflict of interest as purported by the critics.
“Nobody has explained to us how my work as a General Secretary will be at variance with the work of a board member. All they are saying is that because I am a General Secretary, I will be introducing politics into Parliament but Parliament is the house of politics so those who are saying [thus] may have some other reason for saying so.
“Otherwise their reasons are very weak and feeble and there is nothing in this country that says that if you are holding another position, you cannot be a board member. Where the law bars you from becoming a board member, the law states so clearly but in this case it wasn’t like that,” he explained.
He cited how former President John Agyekum Kufuor appointed himself as Chairman of Bui Power Authority (BPA) to report to the then Minister of Energy, who, in turn, reported back to the president.
“It happened [and] those who are complaining about my position now were there. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu supported President Kufuor’s appointment as Bui board chairperson, so what has changed?” he wondered.
