Changing Minority Leadership Continues To Haunt Minority Caucus – ACEPA Boss

The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr Rahseed Draman, has made claims that the minority in Parliament is having a negative ripple effect as a result of its previous reshuffle in the minority leadership.

His claim was sighted by GhanaWeb in a 3news.com report.

According to him, it appears that the current Minority leadership has not been fully embraced by the Minority caucus, necessitating additional efforts on their part.

Haruna Iddrisu, James Klutse Avedzi and Mohammed-Muntaka Mubarak as Minority Leader, Deputy Minority Leader and Minority Chief Whip, respectively, were removed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) leadership and replaced with Dr Casiel Ato Forson, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah and Kwame Agbodza as leaders of the minority.

This change, according to the Executive Director, has resulted in agitation among the Minority caucus.

"It looks like the ghost of the reshuffle in the Minority bench is still haunting the caucus, and I am not (the only one) saying this. This has been said by people like Muntaka; said by the former Minority leader, and today when we listen to proceedings in Parliament, the Majority Leader jokingly took a jab at the Minority Leader [Dr Cassiel Ato Forson] and said you have not been confirmed yet," he said.

Dr Rahseed Draman further explained that because the minority side has not fully accepted the new leadership, a lot of work needs to be done even as 17 of their members will not be returning to Parliament.

"The new leadership has not been fully accepted by the rank and file of the Minority caucus, so there is a lot of work that needs to be done for the leadership to endear themselves to the entire caucus, particularly given its dilemma that is facing them where they have 17 of their members that are likely not to come back," he added.