The Member of Parliament for North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that, following calls from MPs for the Minister of Finance and Minister of State at the Finance Ministry to resign, Charles Adu Boahen , Minister of State at the Finance Ministry submitted his resignation letter but it was rejected.
According to him, the President rejected Adu Boahen’s resignation letter because should Adu Boahen resign, a lot of pressure will be mounted on Ken Ofori-Atta who happens to be the President’s cousin to do likewise.
“I can confirm to you that Charles Adu Boahen has tendered his resignation but the President is making light-whether of the mess that he brought upon us. He told him to hold on. He is refusing to accept his resignation because he knows that if he accepts it, it leaves his cousin in a very precarious situation. There is going to be a lot of pressure on his cousin, Ken Ofori-Atta.”
Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP
The North Tongu Legislator and Ranking Member on Parliament’s committee of Foreign Affairs revealed this on Friday’s edition of ‘Good morning Ghana’ when he was speaking to the minority caucus’ censure motion for the dismissal of Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Okudzeto Ablakwa alleged that “the only reason why Ken Ofori-Atta is in that job is because he is the President’s cousin.” He further intimated that Ofori-Atta’s continual stay in office is the height of nepotism.
“You see why many governance experts say nepotism is dangerous… You see the fallout, the dangers of naked nepotism, that is what it does.”
Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP
Meanwhile, Mr. Ablakwa thanked the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for his quick response to the censure motion that MPs from the minority side submitted on Tuesday, October 25th, 2022, when Parliament resumed from recess.
He said the Speaker “acted with dispatch,” and as per the rules of Parliament, the minority caucus is anticipating that by 10th November, 2022, the motion will be put to vote.
“I hold in my hands the order paper of Thursday, 27th October, 2022. Notice of motion of vote of censure as soon as you see this on the order paper, [it means that] your motion has been admitted, and it has been advertised so the counting begins.
“And remember that under Article 82 of the 1992 constitution, we’ve 14days to offer so when it is received and admitted the counting begins and so by our projection, latest by the 10th of November, we’ll take that secret vote.”
Okudzeto Ablakwa, MP
Minority Submits a Censure Motion for Ofori-Atta’s Removal
On Tuesday, 25th October, 2022, during the first sitting of the third meeting of the second session of the 8th Parliament, Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu informed the Speaker that his caucus had filed a motion for the removal of the Finance Minister.
The motion was filed on the basis that Ken Ofori-Atta has performed poorly in the management of Ghana’s economy.
The Speaker did not delay at all in admitting the motion. During Parliament’s sitting on Thursday, October 27th, 2022, the Speaker confirmed that he had received the motion and the motion was duly admitted.
Reacting to the news of the admission of the motion, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, in an interview with an Accra-based TV station, said that within 14days, the motion will be moved.
“The motion has been admitted by the Speaker and therefore it would have to go through the requirement of the Constitution. Notice for at least seven days before we move the motion. So between now and 10th November- the Constitution requires that it is done within 14 days.”
Haruna Iddrisu, Majority Leader
The constitutional requirement for the removal of a Minister of State by Parliament is that, a majority of two-thirds MPs must vote in favour of a motion to remove the Minister.
With the number of MPs in the minority side being 136, Haruna Iddrisu and his team, will need at least 46 of their colleagues from the majority side voting in favour of the censure motion before Ken Ofori-Atta can be removed.
Meanwhile, on the very day when the minority group submitted the censure motion for Ofori-Atta’s removal, 80 disgruntled MPs from the majority side held a press conference demanding for the immediate removal of the Finance Minister.
In a press release signed by Majority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the majority caucus “agreed to accede to the President’s appeal” to allow Ofori-Atta stay in office until the ongoing IMF negotiations are over and the budget is read in November, 2022.
That not withstanding, the Majority Leader in an interview, mentioned that even though MPs in his caucus agreed to the President’s request and are willing to go by it, not all of them are happy with it.
The minority caucus will definitely seek to take advantage of the seeming tension in the majority group. Since the censure motion will be put to a secret vote, the minority will undoubtedly try to convince some MPs from the majority side to vote in favour of the motion.
If history is anything to go by, then the events that led to Alban Bagbin becoming Speaker of Parliament showed that, the minority caucus under the leadership of Haruna Iddrisu is capable of passing a vote of no confidence in Ken Ofori-Atta.
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