Fomena MP turned me down when I tried to lobby him – Muntaka Mubarak

Mr. Amoako Asiamah is the only independent candidate in the 8th Parliament, with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) both having 137 seats.

There was, therefore, a lot of lobbying from both parties before the election of a Speaker for the 8th Parliament.

Alban Bagbin, who is a stalwart of the NDC, was historically elected Speaker after beating off competition from NPP nominee, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye.

READ ALSO: I spent two and a half weeks convincing MPs to vote for Bagbin – Muntaka reveals

This was after Mr. Bagbin secured the votes of all the NDC MPs and also surprisingly flipped three votes from the NPP caucus.

Speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM, Muntaka Mubarak said he lobbied some NPP legislators to vote for Mr. Bagbin, but revealed that the Fomena MP turned him down.

“I started talking to the independent candidate to work with us. I was telling him why he must work with us, because I believe it is in the national interest,” he said.

“For once, Parliament would be able to play true oversight of the Executive. And he declined but I didn’t give up.”

This is the first time in Ghana’s history that a candidate from the opposition party has been elected Speaker of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Mr. Amoako Asiamah was selected as the Second Deputy Speaker during last week’s inauguration.