The Dome Kwabenya MP has responded to claims she voted against Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye during the election of an 8th Speaker of Parliament.

Lawyer Adwoa Safo in a statement said there is no iota of truth in the "vile rumours" and speculations, as such, she wants the general public to disregard the allegations.

"It is being alleged that I voted against Prof Oquaye because he [Prof Oquaye] allowed his son to contest me in the recent past Dome Kwabenya parliamentary primaries of the NPP in the run up to the 2020 general elections. How absurd!," the statement said.

This comes after the election of Alban Bagbin as Speaker of the 8th Parliament.

Mr Bagbin won with 138 votes against Prof. Mike Oquaye's 136 votes. Number of rejected ballot was one.

The outcome of the election has raised speculation that some members of the NPP voted against the party's nominee since both parties in the House secured 137 seats each and the only independent candidate has declared to do business in the House with the NPP.

With the said composition, it was expected that Prof. Mike Ocquaye would emerge winner, however, that was not the case.

The Dome Kwabenya MP has been named among the suspects who may have voted against the party's nominee but she insists she had no motivation to do that.

"I wish to state emphatically that, there is no iota of truth in these vile rumours and speculations, and I call on all and sundry to completely disregard same. For the avoidance of doubt, I wish to state without any shred of doubt that, I, Sarah Adwoa Safo, voted for Prof Mike Oquaye. I had absolutely no motivation to vote otherwise," she said.

She further noted that in the over 20 years of active political life, she has always stood for and publicly supported decisions of the NPP.

"My unquenchable loyalty and commitment to the NPP over decades can certainly not be shaken by an ordinary internal contest within the party. At every stage of my parliamentary political life, I have been contested, and at no point have I begrudged my fellow contestants," she said.

"Whilst it is indeed true that since 2007, I have been contesting in the Dome Kwabenya parliamentary primaries of the party, it is undeniable, that, regardless of the outcome of each contest, I never hesitated in deploying my time and resources at the disposal of the party to ensure that Dome Kwabenya remains our traditional stronghold election after election," she added.

In addition, Lawyer Adwoa Safo stated that as a firm believer of the democratic tenets, which she said is one of the founding principles of the NPP, she has never, and can never hold any grudge with any person(s) that contest her in any NPP primaries.

"[The allegation] therefore comes to me, as not only egregious, but also highly unconscionable for anyone to suggest that I would betray my party merely because I was contested in the recent parliamentary primaries of the party.

"Beyond that, it must also be recalled that I contributed to the debate on the floor of parliament at that special sitting, making a solid case for the party’s nominee, Prof Mike Oquaye to be re-elected as the Speaker of the august house," she said.

"Also, as the immediate past Deputy Majority Leader and a 3-term Member of Parliament, I am not oblivious of the devastating consequences of not having the Speaker on the side of the governing party. I therefore could not have contemplated putting my party and government in such an uncomfortable and dire situation by voting against the party’s nominee for the position of Speaker.

Despite the allegation, the Lawyer has pledged commitment to serving her constituents, the NPP party and the nation at large.

"Notwithstanding the viciousness of these malicious allegations against my person, I remain resolute and focused on my work as a Member of the august house to the service of my constituents, my party and of course, the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in delivering prosperity to the Ghanaian people," she further noted.