To him, being the leader of a political party, Mr Asiedu Nketiah would not be able to offer neutral and constructive advice to the Speaker of Parliament and must, therefore, resign.

He was speaking at a dialogue with the core leadership of Parliament on harnessing the dividends of Ghana’s democracy over the last 30 years organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs on Tuesday.

Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh questioned the consistency in NDC MPs calling for the removal of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta when they refused to remove Seth Terkper as Finance Minister during the NDC era.

He expressed worry over the membership of political leaders on the Parliamentary Service Board.

Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh changed the course of the discussion when he asked the House to re-examine the role of the newly elected Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Asiedu Nketiah, as a member of the Parliamentary Service Board.

“Sometimes, we need to look beyond now into the future. Peter Ala Adjetey was a member of the NMC and because of him, the Constitution was amended to say that anybody who holds political office should not be a member of the NMC.

“So if anybody holding political office cannot be a member of the Commission, how can somebody leading a political party advice the Speaker who is supposed to demonstrate objectivity and neutrality of the highest sense,” he asked.

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Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh noted that although the current arrangement for political leaders to be on Parliament’s advisory board appears beneficial, the future consequences are dire.

“There was this concern that now Mr Asiedu Nketia is the Chairman of the NDC, he should not be part of the advisory group to the Speaker and serve on the board, he disagreed. There are certain things that have immediate benefit to us but the long-term consequences are not good,” he explained.

Such misconduct, he bemoans, reduces the institution’s reputation and what it represents in the eyes of Ghanaians.

He made these remarks while speaking at a staff durbar on 2 April 2022 at the Chamber of Parliament.

Mr Bagbin stated that the Parliamentary Service Board has made some decisions to ensure an efficient, non-partisan, innovative and professional Parliamentary Service, through holistic staff welfare and empowerment packages.

In view of this, the Speaker urged the staff to work together as a committed team to ensure that Ghana’s legislature attains its vision of developing into a model Parliament worthy of emulation by other legislative institutions.

Mr Ablakwa has questioned why the meeting was not held virtually if there were urgent matters to be discussed or rescheduled.

Reports were rife the board chaired by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, held a meeting in Dubai a few weeks ago.

This was at a time Mr Bagbin was undergoing medical review at the destination, hence it was for his convenience.

Though the report has sparked controversy among a section of Ghanaians, there has not been any official response to it.

Taking to his social media page, the lawmaker noted the report must be of concern to all Ghanaians.

With Parliament as the arm of government responsible for financial oversight, especially, over the Executive, Mr Ablakwa stated it wouldn’t look great if the reports are confirmed.

 “Probably, there’s a superior explanation to address the legitimate anxiety being expressed by many Ghanaians.

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“If there is, we can only urge the Parliamentary Service to put out a statement clarifying matters, since for now, the optics do not do the image of Parliament any good,” part of his statement read.

The board is mandated to seek the welfare of members and staff of Parliament as well as promote other interests of the Legislature.

Its presence allows Parliament to undertake various procurement activities to ensure the smooth running of the Legislature.

Members of the Board are the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu and Abraham Osei Aidoo, who is a former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) and former Majority Leader.

Others are General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia and the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Nsiah.

Read Mr Ablakwa’s full statement below:

A member of the Parliamentary Service Board, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has confirmed their visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai.

But contrary to reports that the Board was in Dubai for a meeting, the former says it was training for all members.

“It was a training that lasted for about six days and it was held in Dubai because of the number involved and the cost that will be incurred in transporting resources here,” he said on Accra-based Neat FM.

Mr Nketia’s comments come on the back of concerns raised by North Tongu Member of Parliament (MP), Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over the trip.

Mr Ablakwa, among other things, has questioned if the meeting could not be rescheduled or be held virtually if it was urgent.

But according to Mr Nketia, the consultant is based in Dubai and usually organises the training for Parliament including the staff, MPs and board members.

“The training was to be done in April after our appointment so the Clerk initiated the processes but it couldn’t come on and was postponed to later this year. So it has nothing to do with the Speaker’s sickness; it was a mere coincident,” he explained.

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To General Mosquito, as he is popularly called, the training could have happened without the presence of the Speaker, stating this is not the first time he is serving on the board.

He further revealed the board has begun implementing some of the recommendations and lessons learnt from the training.

Play the audio above:

According to him, their reasons are untenable.

Mr 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 Osei Aidoo.

Mr Bagbin was defensive of his nomination of his party’s General Secretary, saying it was not unprecedented.

“I want to note that the former Parliamentary Service Board had Honourable 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 intrusion into the governance of Parliament by a political party. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. Honourable members the board will be constituted and we will start our work,” he added.

In an interview 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.

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“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 reasons 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 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.