Minority summons NIA, EC bosses for clarity on Ghanaians data

The Minority in Parliament is demanding the appearance of the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Electoral Commission (EC) before the House to clarify concerns with the current data of Ghanaians under their control.

The Minority says this is a result of plans by the EC to rely on the Ghana Card from the NIA for the 2024 General Elections.

Speaking on the Floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, says statistics from the NIA must reconcile with that of the EC before any such a move could be undertaken.

“Let us see the discrepancy and variance in your numbers because we will not accept any attempt by the Electoral Commission to disenfranchise any Ghanaian because they want to rely on an ID card which is not available to Ghanaians.”

The Minority Leader also called on the house to constitute an ad hoc committee to oversee the implementation of recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee on the Auditor General's Report.

“Parliament must help the public purse in getting this committee constituted,” Mr. Iddrisu said.

He added that there had been meetings with the Majority Leader, and they agreed that “probably we should get a retired jurist or a retired member of Parliament with good standing on account.”

In his response, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, said there is an existing committee to the effect and the Public Accounts Committee must present a report on their work for consideration by the house.

The Speaker further said he has not received any briefing from the EC on its plans to use the data of the NIA for the elections.

He noted until such is done, the EC “should forget about laying any such instrument in the House.”

—citinewsroom