The Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has declined a request from Okaikwei Central MP Patrick Yaw Boamah to be removed from Ghana’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament.
Mr. Boamah wrote officially to the Speaker requesting that his name be removed from the list as an Observer.
He raised concerns over the basis of his designation, referencing the agreed formula for selection by the Minority Caucus.
In his appeal, the lawyer and MP stated that “Speaker, I respectfully write to formally withdraw from the reconstituted list of Ghana’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament as an Observer, as adopted by the House in a resolution on Tuesday, 22nd July, 2025, as evidenced in the copy of the attached votes and proceedings of Tuesday, 22nd July, 2025″.
“Mr. Speaker, my checks with the Pan-African Parliament Secretariat indicate that Observers are not permitted to participate at plenary or in committee meetings. Observers are only permitted to attend upon meeting.”
He further told the Speaker that by the established formula for committees and delegations, he is entitled to be a full member.
“Mr. Speaker, under the established formula for committees and delegations, my inclusion is by right, as the Minority Caucus is entitled to two representatives. The 68:32 ratio, which guided the allocation of committee memberships equally, applied in constituting the ECOWAS Parliament delegation,” he said.
He therefore informed the Speaker that he would want to have his name excluded from the list to avoid “any potential embarrassment to the Parliament of Ghana and Ghanaians as a whole.”
The Speaker, responding to his request, said that Parliament’s resolution remains binding despite the genuine concerns raised by the MP.
“As you are aware, the composition of Ghana’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament was duly adopted by the plenary, following the established procedures of the House. Once Parliament has passed a resolution, it becomes binding, and any variation to that decision must be effected through a formal motion brought before the House. Until such a motion is considered and adopted, the resolution remains in force,” Bagbin said.
The current Ghanaian delegation to the Pan-African Parliament is led by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor, with Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Collins Dauda, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, and Frank Annoh-Dompreh as full members. Boamah had been designated as an observer.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
