Features
Parliament: When Bagbin decides to tell a ‘red’ lie
Many Ghanaians strongly believe that the Rt. Honourable Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, is not a robot and can never act as one.
Many also believe that Rt. Honourable Bagbin will not allow himself to be ‘programmed’ as autopilot or ‘a human post office’ where ‘people’ will post their ‘letters’ for him to read to compromise his venerable position as the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament.
A lot of Ghanaians also hold the view that Rt. Honourable Bagbin is now ‘a national human property’ for all Ghanaians not only for his political party, the National Democratic Congress.
But latest development in the recent visitation of the Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation to Ghana seems to be erasing the lofty assertions made by a number of Ghanaians about our Rt. Honourable Speaker of Parliament.
One may ask: What is the beef?
The Speaker of Parliament in a recent interaction with a delegation from the Ethiopian Parliament is reported to have said; “but for last minute movements where some parliamentary seats were snatched by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) , the NDC would have had Majority in Parliament.”
Reportedly, Rt. Honourable Bagbin said:”The NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, even admitted that the NDC won more seats in Parliament, but some last-minute moves were made to snatch some of the seats from the NDC.”
Rt. Honourable Bagbin reportedly added:”That one is a statement of fact.”
Expectedly, the NPP General Secretary has described the claim by Rt. Honourable Bagbin that parliamentary majority went in favour of the Opposition NDC as “falsehood.”
“There is no iota of truth in such statement made by Rt. Honourable Bagbin to the Ethiopian Parliament since I have never stated anywhere that the NPP devised tactics to get parliamentary majority in its favour,” John Boadu has said.
He insists that ; “the NPP has always maintained in its post elections comment that the party won majority of the parliamentary seats.”
But the question is: Has Mr Bagbin himself got water-tight evidence to back what he allegedly told the Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation?
Assuming the NPP General Secretary said exactly what Mr Speaker is quoting him to have said; does it make his statement true? Where is the evidence to justify that the so-called statement made by the NPP General Secretary is nothing but the truth?
Readers, do you remember? While waiting for the declaration of the December 7, 2020 election results, former President John Dramani Mahama said at a press conference in Accra that:”We have won the elections. We have also won 140 parliamentary seats and what else do we expect?”
He stressed:” I am happy Ghanaians have rejected the Akufo-Addo government,” and asked his NDC supporters to take to the streets and jubilate.
Additionally, former President Mahama stated:”The Akufo-Addo government is using the military to change the results of the elections to favour Akufo-Addo and his NPP.”
So, Rt. Honourable Bagbin: From what former President Mahama is quoted to have said; be said to be true? Where is the evidence to back it? Is it because the statement is coming from ex-President Mahama, it must be accepted as the ‘gospel’ truth?
Rt. Honourable Bagbin: You are known as a very competent lawyer. Not so? In the ‘ game of law, ‘ is it not the case that EVIDENCE is supreme? So, where is the evidence that what you told the Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation actually happened?
If you cannot produce the evidence, is it not the case that you told a ‘red’ lie to the Ethiopian delegation?
And after the declaration of the presidential results, Mr Mahama and the NDC roundly rejected the results, claiming that the will of the people had been subverted and that “the proper verdict of the people had been stolen.”
Rt. Honourable Bagbin: So, did you believe; and do you still believe the statement above? If you believe the statement to be true; is it because it is coming from ex-President Mahama and the NDC? And do you have any evidence to support such a statement?
Mr Speaker: In spite of the ‘apparent truth’ you believed in ; was it not strange to you when ex-President Mahama went to Supreme Court, rather seeking injunction, directing the Electoral Commission to conduct another election between him and President Akufo-Addo ?
And that President Akufo Addo did not cross the constitutional threshold of 50 per cent plus one, to warrant the declaration of the presidential election results in his favour?
Mr Speaker: Were you surprised that the “stolen verdict” chorus; “the government using the military to change the election results”; and “the Electoral Commission attempting to change the election results to favour Akufo-Addo”; all evaporated from ex-President Mahama’s petition to the Supreme Court?
The simple answer is ; ex-President Mahama did not have any evidence anywhere to support his ’emotional’ statements.
Rt. Honourable Bagbin: Since you decided to follow “the ‘red‘ lie tangent”, you might have, as well, relayed the ’emotional’ statements made by your party to the Ethiopian delegation and topped it up with the Supreme Court ruling.
From a distance, Mr Speaker, I can tell with all the confidence at my command, that your reasoning prowess is more than excellent. So, why do you descend into the ‘red’ lie zone?
Readers, now let’s listen to Professor Edward Gyampo of the University of Ghana: “Bagbin is expected to be very firm and neutral person who will not even do the bidding of his own party and he sounded that caution.
“And if he begins to make such statements not backed by evidence, you open yourself up for needless criticisms.”
Professor Gyampo says: “They went to court. If they had that evidence, they should have shown this there. These things have been settled because we have handled them in court by the ruling.
“For a whole Speaker to be saying this; I mean, it’s a bit problematic because if you do that, it undermines the expected neutrality.”
Over to you, Rt. Honourable Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin. Any response?
Contact email/WhatsApp of author:
asmahfrankg@gmail.com (0505556179)
By G Frank Asmah
Attention-Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is often mistaken for laziness or indiscipline. In consulting rooms across Accra and in reports from school teachers, the pattern repeats: children who are bright but forgetful, parents who feel helpless, teachers who see incompleteness.
Research is clear-Barkley (2015) and others describe ADHD as a difference in the brain’s regulation of alertness, impulse and working memory, not a lack of effort.
The family’s role begins with structure. Regular sleep, predictable meal and homework times, and a simple visual list (uniform → books → water → corridor) provide the external scaffolding of these children need. Praise what is completed—“You opened the book and wrote the first sentence”-instead of rebuking what is missing.
Schools can help by seating the child front-row and centre, giving short written plus verbal instructions, allowing brief movement breaks, using quiet nonverbal cues and, where possible, grading effort and method as well as neatness. These adjustments reduce conflict and raise submission rates without lowering standards.
Couples and caregivers should share roles: one grounds, one pivots, and both protect rest. Shame-“bad parenting, bad child”-needs replacing with fact: different wiring, needs scaffolding.
Outcomes improve not by promises of perfection but by daily routines, clear limits and warmed connection. One homework slot kept, one instruction chunked, one calm repair after blurting-these small wins shift the family climate and let the child be seen beyond the label.
Resource
• CPAC (award-winning Mental Health and Counselling Facility): 0559850604 / 0551428486
Source: REV. COUNSELLOR PRINCE OFFEI’s insights on special needs support, relationships, and mental health in Ghana. He is a leading mental health professional, lecturer, ADR Expert/Arbitrator, renowned author, and marriage counsellor at COUNSELLOR PRINCE & ASSOCIATES CONSULT (CPAC COUNSELLOR TRAINING INSTITUTE) – 0551428486 /0559850604.
WEBSITES:
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/author
https://princeoffei22.wixsite.com/website
After two weeks of hectic activity up north, I drove to the Tamale airport, parked the car at the Civil Aviation car park as usual, paid the usual parking fee and boarded the plane for Accra.
Over the last two weeks, I had shuffled between three sites where work was close to completion.
One was a seed warehouse, where farmers would come and pick up good quality maize, sorghum and other planting material.
The other was a health facility for new mothers, where they were given basic training on good nutrition and small scale business.
And the third was a set of big boreholes for three farming communities.
The projects usually ran on schedule, but a good deal of time was spent building rapport with the local people, to ensure that they would be well patronised and maintained.
It was great to be working in a situation where one’s work was well appreciated. But it certainly involved a lot of work, and proactivity. And I made sure that I recorded updates online before going to bed in the evening.
When the plane took off, my mind shifted to issues in Accra, the big city. The young guys at my office had done some good work. They had secured five or six houses on a row in a good part of the city, and were close to securing the last.
When we got this property, unusually, Abena greeted them casually, and appeared to be comfortable in the guy’s company.
I was quite disappointed to hear that, because until the last few weeks, it seemed as if Abena and I were heading in a good direction. Apart from the affection I had for her, I liked her family. I decided to take it easy, and allow things to fall in whatever direction.
Normally I would take a taxi to her house from the airport, and pick her up to my place. This time I went to my sisters’ joint, where they sat by me while I enjoyed a drink and a good meal.
“So Little Brother,” Sister Beesiwa said, “what is it we are hearing about our wife-to-be?”
“When did you conclude that she was your wife-to-be? And what have you heard? I’ve only heard a couple of whispers. Ebo and Nana Kwame called to say that they have seen her in the company of—”
“Well said Little Brother,” Sister Baaba said. “By the way, Nana Kwame called an hour ago to ask if you had arrived because he could not reach you. Someone had told him that Jennifer had boasted to someone that she had connected Abena to a wealthy guy who would take care of her.”
I was beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.
“In that case,” Sister Beesiwa said, “you should be glad that Abena is out of your way. She is easily swayed. Anyone who would make a relationship decision based on a friend’s instigation lacks good sense. I hope the guy is as wealthy as they say?”
“Who gets wealthy running a supermarket chain in Ghana?” Sister Baaba said. “Our supermarkets sell mostly imported products. Look at the foreign exchange rate. And remember that Ghanaians buy second-hand shoes and clothes. Supermarkets are not good business here. Perhaps they are showing off that they are wealthy, but in reality they are not doing so well.”
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. So I think Jennifer fed her with false stories about me in order to get her to move to the Ampadu guy. Jennifer must have been well compensated for her efforts.”
She said that David Forson was only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her. And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“Amen to that,” I said. “I’m beginning to understand. For some time, Abena had been asking me what work I was doing up north, and after I had explained it to her, she kept asking. We would be able to sell all five houses to one big corporate customer, and we had already spoken to a property dealer who was trying to find a buyer in order to get a good commission.
That was going to be my biggest break. I had asked the boys to look for a large tract of land on the outskirts of the city where we could develop our own set of buildings, blocks of storey houses and upscale apartments. Things were going according to plan, and I was quietly excited. However, things were not going so well regarding my relationship with Abena.
My buddies Ebo and Nana Kwame had called to say that they met Abena and her friend Jennifer enjoying lunch with a guy, and Ebo believed that Jennifer was ‘promoting’ an affair between Jennifer and the guy. They were of the view that the promotion seemed to be going in the guy’s favour, because only an agricultural extension worker in the north who did not have the resources to take care of a beautiful girl like her.
And apart from being wealthy, the guy comes from an influential family, so Abena had done much better leaving a miserable civil servant like you for him.
“As I’ve already said, I will stop by her place, but I will mind my own business from now. Hey, let’s talk family. How are our parents? And my brothers-in-law? And my nephews and nieces? Why don’t we meet on Sunday? I’m going to drop my bags at my place, and go to see Mama and Dad.”
