Consensus in Parliament could be for the ‘right’ or ‘wrong thing’; public must be vigilant – Mahama Ayariga

Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has asked the general public to be vigilant and interested in the activities of the 8th Parliament.

Speaking to Eugene Bawelle on Class91.3FM’s weekend current affairs show, ‘The Watchdog’ on Saturday, 23 January 2021, Mr Ayariga explained that even though the 8th parliament “presents a unique opportunity for working together”, the members of the House are likely to agree or disagree unanimously on issues due to equal representation.

“I think that this Parliament presents a unique opportunity for working together. There are two things. You talk about consensus. There is a consensus to do the right thing. There's also the possibility of a consensus to do the wrong thing. So I don't think that the public should just sit aside and say' because the numbers are equal the right thing will be done in Parliament,” he said.

He cited the incident that occurred during the selection of a new Speaker of Parliament in the House on 7 December 2021 when some members on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) side in Parliament allegedly voted for the speaker nominee from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) side.

According to Mr Ayariga, it is, therefore, important for the general public to be vigilant and keenly interested in matters raised in the House.

“I think the public should remain eternally vigilant and watch the parliament to make sure that the opportunities that the numbers provide are really realised...”

---classfm