Haruna Iddrisu, Minority Leader in Parliament
Tamale South Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has said he has earned his stripes in rising to become the leader of the Minority in the lawmaking chamber.
In a direct response to critics who aver that his leadership style was to blame for open opposition and apparent mutiny by some members of his caucus.
Haruna admitted in an interview with Citi TV that despite not being combative as a leader, he has always taken along a united bloc in articulating the views and positions of the minority.
“I am not Minority Leader by accident, I have paid my dues, I have served the party and I have served in different capacities. (As) Haruna Iddrisu, I have never taken a decision alone.
“We will normally have a caucus meeting where the matters are discussed…and then we will take a common position and then we will defend that position,” he told Bernard Avle on the Point of View Programme which aired on September 29.
He said, years in Parliament has taught him that whether intra or inter-party, decisions are more often than not based on consensus and he is always guided by the position of his team and views of Ranking Members in the different areas.
“I come to the office of Minority Leader with reasonable depth. I have been in Parliament (for) 17 years, I have been Minister, I have occupied important policy space and I am guided by it.
“And I am saying that in Parliament, whether when the numbers were 137 or 106, 169, it was a consensus. But where you have a disagreement, I have guided the NDC Minority, let it reflect that this is a Minority position and I am guided by that to make a decision,” he explained.
Haruna has been in Parliament since 2005 representing the people of Tamale South. He served as Communications Minister under the Mills government and later as Employment and Labour Relations and Trade and Industry Minister under John Dramani Mahama government.