Rt Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has recounted visiting former Speaker Aaron Mike Oquaye on 4th January 2021 to bid him farewell as he was leaving Parliament.
Alban Bagbin revealed that Mike Oquaye gifted him 20,000 cedis in cash and wished him well, but the following day, he was summoned by the leadership of the National Democratic Congress to contest Mike Oquaye for Speakership of the 8th Parliament.
Speaking during a Thanksgiving service for the Clerk of Parliament on February 22, 2026, Bagbin, actually, on January 4, 2021, I went to visit him in his office as the Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the Fourth Republic and bid him farewell, and he thanked me so much”.
“He gave me 20,000 Ghana cedis and wished me the best of times after Parliament,” Bagbin disclosed.
He further added, “At that time, I didn’t know that General Mosquito, the chairman who is here, and others had conspired to get me to contest him”.
“The next day, January 5, 2021, I was called and summoned, and I said to myself, ‘I’ve gone to bid him goodbye, and he gave me 20,000. How am I going to contest him again?’ And the rest is history,” he added.
It will be recalled that accusations were levelled against Adwoa Safo as the NPP MPs suspected of voting for the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) nominee Alban Bagbin instead of the NPP’s Mike Ocquaye Snr. as the Speaker in 2020.
However, Alban Bagbin has revealed that the former member of parliament for Dome Kwabenya, Sarah Adwoa Safo, did not vote for him to become Speaker of Parliament.
According to Speaker Bagin, Adwoa Safo is his daughter, but did not vote for him as she has been accused by many, adding that he knows all those who voted for him in the famous election in parliament.
Alban Bagbin made this revelation when Adwoa Safo, the former Deputy Majority Leader of Parliament and Member of Parliament, led a delegation of her family to formally notify the Speaker of Parliament about the passing of Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.
Speaking during the meeting, Alban Bagbin stated, “ Adwoa Safo is my daughter. I knew her even before she joined me in parliament. But she did not vote for me to become speaker, I know those who voted for me”.
Meanwhile, an aide to former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has labelled Alban Bagbin, as the worst Speaker Ghana has had since 1992.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye accused Speaker Bagbin of being biased, partisan, unjust and not transparent.
According to Miracles Aboagye, all the chaos in Parliament is on the head of the Speaker.
Speaking on Asempa FM, Dennis Miracles Aboagye claimed, “Bagbin remains the worst Speaker of Parliament since 1992. He is biased, partisan, unjust and not transparent, and all he does is skirmish. Every chaos is parliament is on the head of the speaker. He is the one who must maintain order in the chamber, but because of his inconsistency…”
He cited the Speaker’s conduct during the 8th parliament and the 9th parliament, arguing that the Speaker turned the 8th parliament into a nursery because of his skirmishes.
Miracles Aboagye added, “What happened in the 8th parliament is what we are seeing in the 9th parliament. We saw parliament turned into a nursery, and it all happened under this same speaker because of his skirmishes. He’s unable to make firm decisions. How can the Speaker of the House move a motion in the midst of chaos?
That is not leadership; that is you supporting impunity. You did it in the 8th Parliament when the NPP has majority, and you are doing it in the 9th Parliament, and it is time to call the Speaker out, let him know that he is responsible for the House. So if the House is in chaos, it is on his head and nobody else”.
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