President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has acknowledged the support his administration has received from the legislature.
Citing the approval of his ministers and budget for this year as two key legislative interventions needed for the formation of a government which were approved by the Parliament, the President said despite the fears of many that his second term would be tough due to the hung nature of the current Parliament, the work of the executive has not been hampered in any way but the legislature.
“Both interventions were done in a very good spirit and I thank the Speaker very much for contributing to this occurrence”, His Excellency Akufo-Addo noted.
“This meant that the difficulty that people feel I would have in being able to get important matters through this Parliament has not, in fact, materialised and it is because of the spirit of co-operation that I receive from the Speaker,” he added, in response to a plea by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for both the President and the Speaker to work towards deepening peace in the country.
The Asantehene, made the plea when the Millennium Excellence Foundation conferred the Gold Coast Prize for National Cohesion and Stability on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the 2020 Millennium Excellence Awards, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi last Saturday.
The event, organised by the Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF), saw 35 individuals and companies receive awards for excelling in their fields of endeavour.
The awardees included distinguished men and women from Ghana, Nigeria and other parts of Africa.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu, who is the Life Patron of the Millennium Excellence Foundation, decorated the President with a colourful robe and a hat at a well organised ball at the Manhyia Palace.
The foundation said the award was in recognition of the President’s “meritorious work in the areas of national cohesion and stability in Ghana.”
President Akufo-Addo said it was sad that the Speaker was unable to attend the event to share the stage with him.
According to him, the event of January 7, 2021 which saw the election of Mr Alban Bagbin as the Speaker of Parliament “meant for me that whatever be the case, I have to find a way to work with the Speaker.
“The interest of our nation requires that the two of us find a way to work together no matter the divergent political forces from which we come.”
President Akufo-Addo also described himself as a lucky man who was ruling a country where the people “have made it clear that they are determined no matter the difficulties of the circumstances, to build a durable democratic nation in Ghana.”
According to him, the people who were most responsible for that were Ghanaians themselves.
It was in that context that he stated: “I feel extremely obliged, extremely honoured to be their President and wherever I go in the world and I am getting this accolades I know it is because of the quality of the people of this country.”