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Okaikwei Central Member of Parliament Patrick Yaw Boamah has petitioned Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to remove him as part of Ghana’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament.
The NPP MP, who had been listed as an observer, questioned the legitimacy of his designation in a memo to the Speaker, insisting the agreed formula for selection entitled the Minority to two full representatives.
He said “My checks with the Pan-African Parliament Secretariat indicate that Observers are not permitted to participate in plenary or in committee meetings. Observers are only permitted to attend upon meeting.”
According to him, his observer role diminished Ghana’s standing and violated the established 68:32 ratio used in allocating parliamentary committees and ECOWAS Parliament seats.
The MP stated that he chose to withdraw as an observer to prevent “any potential embarrassment to the Parliament of Ghana and Ghanaians as a whole.”
He said “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—was equally applied in constituting the ECOWAS Parliament delegation.”
Boamah added that his decision to withdraw as an observer is “to avoid any potential embarrassment to the Parliament of Ghana and Ghanaians as a whole.“
The newly reconstituted delegation to the Pan-African Parliament was led by First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor, with Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Collins Dauda, Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, and Frank Annoh-Dompreh serving as members. At the same time, Patrick Boamah had been designated as an observer.
Speaker of Parliament, Bagbin, in response to the MP’s request, acknowledged the concerns but maintained that Parliament’s resolution adopting the delegation remains binding until overturned by a substantive motion.
Boamah’s withdrawal leaves the Minority with only one representative, a development they describe as a direct breach of their guaranteed two-seat allocation.
The Minority MPs accused the Speaker of enabling the Majority to override due process and tilt the balance in their favour.
