Nii Lante To Petition Nana Addo Over Old Parliament Demolition

The Member of Parliament for the Odododiodioo Constituency, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has indicated he may petition President Akufo-Addo over the demolition of portions of the Old Parliament House in Accra.

According to him, the unilateral decision to pull down the structure was not in the best interest of the country.

The legislator, in whose constituency the facility was located said he was surprised that the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice did not consult him or any other stakeholder, before taking the decision.

Many Ghanaians on Monday awoke to the shocking news of the demolition of portions of the structure which housed the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly from 1951 when Dr. Kwame Nkrumah became the leader of Government Business under British rule.

The former Minister for Youth and Sports said he has informed the Ga Traditional Council about the development as well as the Minority caucus so a plan is fashioned out on the way forward.

“I am scandalized, annoyed and seriously outraged by this news. As a stakeholder, if any decision of the kind was to be taken, we should have been consulted at least. As a Member of Parliament for the area, at least I have a relationship with the old parliament house. I have decided to file a question to the Speaker when we resume Parliament to makes sure that we bring before the house the people who did that to explain to us who granted them the permission to carry out this demolition,” he said.

“I’ve informed the caucus and the Ga Traditional Council and if it demands that we file a petition to the office of the President and the Speaker of Parliament and any other important state organization, we will do that. I’m ready to put my parliamentary seat on the line to fight for this,” the legislator added.

Many Ghanaians on Monday woke up to the shocking news of the demolition of the Old Parliament Building located on the High Street opposite the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum.

The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Adjei Sowah, in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show, said the news of the demolition came to him as a “surprise” because CHRAJ had not obtained the necessary permission to undertake the demolition.