Despite the strong opposition to his attendance in the House, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the General Secretary of the opposition NDC, has intimated that he will be in parliament today.
In an interview with Bonohene Baffuor Awuah on Ghana Kasa on Kasapa Fm, he stated this.
“I’m on my way to parliament. I have every right as a citizen of this country to be there if I want to. Parliament is a House of Commons[Ordinary people]. It’s our representatives who have been elected to occupy the Chamber and bid our interest in parliament,” he noted.
On Friday, the majority of parliamentarians stormed out when the Speaker refused to fulfill their demand to eject the NDC General Secretary from the public gallery. The Speaker had previously summoned the Minister of Finance and other Ministers to leave the chamber.
Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, on the other hand, claimed that sitting in the public gallery other than the Lobby to view proceedings as a citizen was legal.
He told Kasapa Fm that there is no way the minority will soften their stance should the 2022 Budget remain in its current form.
“Our concerns are pointed at engagement. Mandela said: If you don’t want to shift your position don’t go for negotiation.
“They will suffer if they’re not ready to reach a middle-ground with Ghanaians on the 2022 Budget. If you think you alone understand what constitutes national interest, you’ll fail no matter what you do”
The Minority wants the government to withdraw the Agyapa deal and suspend the proposed 1.75% e-levy. The Minority has also advocated for proper reconstruction of paragraph 829 of the Aker Energy deal relating to GNPC’s acquisition of stake from Aker Energy and AGM Petroleum.
In addition to these, the Minority wants government to review the benchmark value for imports as well as provide for the Keta tidal waves disaster among others.
It is however unclear if a revised budget would be presented today or Parliament will use its own processes to deal with the matter.
