The outgoing majority leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called on the incoming National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to either retain the current Speaker of the House, Alban Bagbin or choose a new speaker who is already a member of Parliament.

According to him, if the new John Mahama administration intends to change the speaker, the individual should not be an outsider. He emphasized that Alban Bagbin has done an excellent job over the past four years as the Speaker, and it would not be fair to replace him.

“Mr Speaker, the institutional empowerment you have given to Parliament is unmatched, and it is likely because we have you as speaker coming from within. Mr Speaker, I don’t know whether you will be retained or if a new person will be appointed… If they decide to maintain you, I know parliament will continue to benefit. But should they decide to retire you, which I know they can do, if they choose to bring in a new Speaker, that person should come from within. We don’t want an outsider,” he said during the House’s first sitting after the long break caused by the vacant seat impasse.

Mr Afenyo-Markin explained that they would prefer an existing member of the house, “someone who will understand us.”

He went on to praise Mr Bagbin for his leadership, saying, “Mr Speaker, let me commend you for the four years of your leadership in this House. We may have had our disagreements, but it is clear that the welfare of members has been key to your leadership. Nobody can take that away from you.”

Monday’s sitting was held at the Accra International Conference Centre, where members of the House are set to meet and debate pending matters before the current Parliament’s closure.