President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has refuted assertions by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin that he has become a lame-duck President after the election of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Election 2024.
President Akufo-Addo speaking at a programme at Nima in Accra said he will continue to serve as President of Ghana until January 7, 2025, as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on November 21, urged the government to collaborate with the Minority side to avoid potential stalemates.
He suggested that the President whom he referred to as a ‘lame duck’ was losing loyalty from key personalities in the NPP, including MPs, after the vice president became the flagbearer of the party.
“I expect the majority who have a limping majority leader, limping because when you look at his back, you’re less than those in front of you.
“You have a lame duck president, a lame duck because you have elected a flagbearer and loyalty, and commitment are shifting. So, your president is now lame duck president.”
“You need this side [Minority] of the house to support you to finish your eight years. And so, if you don’t behave well, we have a difficulty in proceeding as a nation,” he said.
But speaking at a meeting with chiefs and residents of Nima in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said he is still in charge of the country until January 7, 2025.
“Speaker Bagbin says I am a lame duck. Well, that is his language. I am still the president of the republic, and I will continue to do so until January 7, 2025. I have no doubt that the power to make decisions and to carry out policies is still firmly in my hands, and I am not going to let it go.”
“So I don’t know what he is talking about when he says I am a lame-duck president. I am not a lame-duck president,” President Akufo-Addo stated.