News:
August 29, 2018
Second Deputy Speaker and 2020 flagbearer hopeful of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has apologised for lack of caution, in his comments against persons with disability who served in the former government that had not gone down well with some people.
At a press conference in Accra, Mr Bagbin apologized to Ghanaians, Ghana Federation of the Disabled and Civil Society Organization and the NDC who by one way or the other felt offended by the alleged comments.
“I render my heartfelt apology to you all I want to take full responsibility for the indiscretion in going public with issues that should otherwise be private to the NDC”, he said.
He however felt short of accepting his comments was an attack on persons with disabilities as portrayed on social and mainstream media.
During his tour of the Volta Region, Mr. Bagbin was alleged to have made the following comments: “Traditionally, if you are not a whole person can you be a chief? Can you be a queen mother? So if you are going to appoint the minister of chieftaincy and you appoint a very bright lawyer who unfortunately is blind what are you telling the chiefs? The chiefs rejected it, and they spoke, we refused to change him. Do you expect them to vote for you?
“When Prof [Atta Mills] was in power, Haruna Iddrisu was our linguist in charge of communication, when my brother John Mahama came to power, he substituted him for Dr Omane Boamah who is a natural stammerer,”
“He is a very intelligent boy, he is smart but when he is speaking, he wastes time in coming out and Ghanaians do not have that much patience, so, they are always looking for those that are rattling.”
Kwaku Sakyi-Danso/ghanamps.com