The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin, has outlined the decline in dialogue and the building of consensus if the Majority Caucus continues to attack his personality.
Consensus and building will suffer if the NPP Majority Caucus continues to attack me unfairly in Parliament, according to MP for Bui Constituency, Samuel Mbakwe.
The lingering doubt caused by conspiracy accusations has left many MP’s feeling discouraged.
According to Bagbin, Kevin Taylor’s criticism of him on social media had created a stalemate: “Leader of the House met with Speaker and we had two points: either I resign and the Minister (responsible for defence) resign and we will re-enact, or we postpone budget. What message am I looking at, what is the popular feeling that you think Government is getting – that somebody has been clever about it? That somebody has ruined everything?’”
In this interview with state broadcaster GBC, Mr Bagbin also touched on recent criticisms by politicians in his Elected Member of Parliament (EMOP). One politician said he “should learn how to lead” and doesn’t understand the level of leadership a Region President is at.
I am passionate about making life better for the average Nigerian, and I will do absolutely anything to bring awareness to our current issues. Towards this goal, I’ve proposed outlawing attack ads during general elections, addressing corruption allegations in the public education system, and putting an end to hate crimes.
Mr Bagbin submitted to Parliament on Tuesday his supplementary presentation of evidence on the obstruction of Parliament. This followed the hearing of 18th January which agreed the Majority Caucus’s suspension be lifted, pending the conclusion of investigations by the Public Accounts Committee on possible violations.
According to Bagbin, the Bekwai lawmaker’s decision to participate in the voting process on the E-levy while presiding over the House was out of turn.
“To be frank with you, my First Deputy Speaker was wrong in even announcing that he was going to vote,” Bagbin said, “and so when the Second Deputy Speaker voted,” Bagbin explained, “he then called on him to come and take over so that he’d also go and vote.” The scene ended in a fight when this altercation turned into a wrestling match.
Bagbin’s concern is that if Majority Caucus continues to attack him, other MPs will not understand his views due to the lack of communication, which would slow down the passing of bills. It seems that Bagbin spends a lot of time thinking about consensus in Parliament, which he takes seriously.
Minister Julian King highlighted the talks with businesses as insignificant, arguing that the use of Wanna Decryptor is irrelevant since ransomware can encrypt files at any time.
