Former President John Dramani Mahama
Former President John Dramani Mahama drew flak on the floor of Parliament yesterday, over his continuous boycott of state events since the coming into office of President Nana Akufo-Addo, including the presidential message on the State of the Nation otherwise known as SONA.
Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who lambasted him, said his absence from this year’s SONA is the seventh in the series of boycotts by the Ex-President, who is seeking to lead the country again.
“Mr. Speaker, that certainly is not a good account of the immediate past President and [former] presidential candidate [of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC)],” he stated, while winding down on the debate on the President’s message to Parliament presented last week.
He explained that President Akufo-Addo did not attend the SONA presented by Mr. Mahama in 2013, because the NPP was at the time contesting the legitimacy of the President, and added that, “The NPP parliamentary group boycotted the 2013 events accordingly.”
“But it is worth commending that former President John Agyekum Kufuor attended the swearing-in of President Mahama in 2013 in his capacity as a former President,” he said.
Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu indicated that the NPP Minority group attended the 2014 presidential message on the State of the Nation after the case was settled by the Supreme Court in the second half of 2013 in favour of former President Mahama.
“Nana Akufo-Addo did not attend the 2014 event because he had travelled outside the country. In 2015, he returned to the country and accordingly attended the event. It is instructive to note that [former] President Mahama has not attended any of the seven events that had President Akufo-Addo as the key personality. The people of this country will not forget,” he intimated.
On March 30, 2022, President Akufo-Addo presented a message on the State of the Nation to Parliament after suffering a number of postponements.
The delay of the presentation of the address attracted sharp criticism from the Minority NDC MPs, with MP for Adaklu, Govern Kwame Agbodza, raising the issue on a number of occasions.
In one of such occasions, Mr. Agbodza described the delay as unprecedented in the history of the Fourth Republic, adding, “We have never seen a president who is unable to tell us the state of the nation this long. We think that we need a definite date.”
But in a sharp rebuttal, Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, told the House, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was ready to present the State of the Nation Address (SONA), but leadership of Parliament was yet to agree on a date for the President to come.
He explained that the duty of the Speaker of Parliament and leadership in the House is to agree on a date and communicate the same to the President.
Currently the Speaker has been away in Dubai for the past two weeks, hoping to return at month end.
However, that agreement has not been reached for it to be communicated to the President thereby President Akufo-Addo cannot be blamed for the delay in presenting the State of the Nation Address.
BY Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House