Member of Parliament elect for North Tongu has hit hard at the opposition New Patriotic Party who are threatening to boycott the inaugural ceremony of President John Mahama.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa described the NPP decision as �shameful� �selfish� insisting the party cannot seek to benefit from an election they have discredited.
The NPP Minority in Parliament is looking forward to having Joe Ghartey nominated as second deputy Speaker of Parliament but Ablakwa maintains the NPP cannot have their way.
He told Joy News� Francis Abban the minority cannot illegitimize the presidency of John Mahama and yet position itself to have a deputy speaker in Parliament.
�You have to take a principled stance. If the election is illegitimate; if President Mahama is illegitimate; the election is discredited then the entire election is discredited. You should not be seeking to profit from this same election by nominating your own for second deputy Speaker of Parliament,� he said.
�Some of us from the majority side think the time is up to call the NPP bluff,� he added.
He said the majority is considering offering the position of the deputy speaker to any other minority party or an independent candidate, other than the NPP.
Joy News sources say PNC�s Alhassan Azong, MP for Builsa South is highly tipped for the position.
Ablakwa said the NPP must also boycott the inauguration of Parliament and not take salaries if it is their considered opinion that the election was rigged.
�What the NPP is doing undermines our democracy. It is so shameful, it is so opportunistic and this naked selfish opportunism must be condemned and that is what some of us are fighting against,� he noted.
No Insult
But the Minority Leader Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is convinced the views by the Okudzeto Ablakwa are "uninitiated".
He said it is about time politicians learn to make their arguments without being "acidic" and being "caustic".
"Let�s not reduce these things to the level of insults. Let�s isolate the issues.
�We are saying that we are disputing the validity of the election of candidate John Mahama as declared by the Electoral Commission and we are not just rubble rousing or making empty noise. We have submitted credible evidence to court. It is for the court to adjudicate on the matter," he said, adding, "the figures speak for themselves."
He said the NPP is challenging the verdict of the presidential election and not the Parliamentary and therefore it will be wrong for anybody to suggest that they should not take salaries.
Source: JFM/Ghana
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