Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has apologised to Ghanaians, especially persons with disability for his comments against them, which he said, was misconstrued by his opponents for political gains.
Mr. Bagbing who is seeking the mandate of the members of the National Democratic Congress to lead the party into the 2020 general election chastised former President Mahama for appointing Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, who stammers, as Communication Minister.
Speaking to NDC communicators in the Volta Region, Bagbin also sought to question Mahama’s choice of a blind man as Chieftaincy Minister.
“If you are not whole, can you be a chief or a queen mother? So when you form a government and make the Minister for Chieftaincy a blind person and the chiefs are objecting and you don’t change it, what are telling the chiefs? These are facts I am stating. I have not added anything. You all know it, but you may not have appreciated the impact of what happened. And when some of us are close and can forsee it and we see it, then you are somewhere and you are telling people to insult us.
It is not a chief that speaks, it is a linguist. So if you are a leader you must have a very good linguist. When Prof [Evans Atta Mills] was in power, Haruna Iddrisu was our linguist – in charge of communication. When our brother John came to power, he substituted him for Dr Omane, who is a natural stammerer. Who is a natural stammerer. He is a very intelligent boy. Smart. But when he is speaking he wastes time in coming out. Ghanaians don’t have that much patience.”
His comments were heavily criticised by Ghanaians, especially by persons with disability in the country, who demanded an unqualified apology from him.
Addressing journalists in Accra on the matter Tuesday, Mr. Bagbin said he least expected his comments to cause emotions to rise among a section of the Ghanaian people, and accordingly said “I render my heartfelt apologies to you all”.
He said he takes full responsibility for the comments made, which he said was the misrepresented by some activist within National Democratic Congress for their political interest.
“I want to take full responsibility for the indiscretion of going with issues that will otherwise be private to the NDC. I have learnt that such disclosure could raise emotions among some sections of the Ghanaian society,” he added.
He explained his late response was because he had “travelled outside the country” and not because he was “insensitive to the feelings of those who were affected by the misconstruction of what I said and the deliberate misrepresentation by partisan activist for political gain”.
He explained he in no way described persons with disability appointed under the John Mahama administration as incompetent.
“If I said the appointment of a person with special disability in speech to be a Minister of Communications, was politically inexpedient, it does not mean that such a person is incompetent to head any Ministry by reason of his special disability. Not, at all,” he justified.
“If I said a particular appointment into the Ministry of Chieftaincy would affect the electoral fortunes of our party, it is not to say that the person appointed is incompetent,” he explained
He justified the comment saying there is a standing tradition in our chieftaincy institution that disqualifies such a person to oversee chieftaincy affairs as that would incur the displeasure of the traditional leaders.
The flagbearer hopeful also said he only sought to suggest that the placement of these persons at their respective ministries were a wrong decision, and that, he did not question their competence.
“This wrong placement caused the NDC some votes. I cited three ministers to illustrate my point, and stated that they were all very brilliant and capable persons, but they were assigned to inappropriate ministries. I never questioned the competence of the appointees of the NDC government, to the contrary, I praised them,” Mr. Bagbin told the media.
According to him, he is committed to promoting inclusiveness on all fronts, and will in no way say or do anything that would contradict that commitment.
Mr. Bagbin said he has championed the cause of PWDs over the years in various capacities, and is very concerned about their welfare.
“I want to assure the NDC and the good people of Ghana that my unflinching support for inclusive governance, a key part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), is never in doubt,” he stated.
He also pledged his commitment towards ensuring that some reforms will be carried out to enable limitless opportunities for Persons Living with Disabilities if he becomes president.
These, he said, will include huge investments into public education and sensitization against economic and social discrimination, as well as tax incentives and reliefs to create employment in the private sector for PWDs.
“Indeed, I have elaborate plans for ending all forms of discrimination and creating wealth to establish an equitable and just society in Ghana. Together, we can create a more inclusive culture of governance and respect for all,” he said.
By Irene Amesimeku|3news.com|Ghana