STEALERS! MPs Hoot As Prez Mahama Meets Empty Chairs (Photo)

Drama unfolded in Ghana�s Parliament yesterday when members of the Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) walked out of the chamber, leaving empty seats and a half-filled House for President John Dramani Mahama to deliver his state-of-the-nation address amidst catcalls. The NPP MPs stormed out of the House immediately after Speaker Edward Doe Adjaho invited Dr. Benjamin Kunbuor and Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, majority and minority leaders respectively, to accompany him to usher in President Mahama for his address. Before staging the walkout, the MPs displayed leaflets with inscription �stealers�, apparently keeping faith with their avowed belief that the 2012 presidential election was stolen for President Mahama, candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). However, while the NPP MPs were walking out of the House�s chamber, their NDC counterparts also created a different spectacle, as they hooted at their colleagues, shouting, �Shame, shame�. The NDC MPs had to fill some of the empty seats left by NPP members before President Mahama took the stage to deliver the state-of-the-nation address in accordance with Article 67 of the constitution. It would be recalled that in 2007, the Minority NDC boycotted the state-of-the-nation address by President John Agyekum Kufuor. They were protesting against the conviction of the then Keta MP, Dan Abodakpi. In a message that lasted about one and half hours, President Mahama outlined four pillars- putting the people first, a strong and resilient economy, expanding infrastructure and transparent and accountable governance- which according to him, underpinned the government�s development programme. He said he had been having sleepless nights because of the blackouts which characterized electricity supply in the country currently.