Akufo-Addo responds to Speaker’s criticism of him as a “lame duck”: “My ability to make decisions is intact”

President Akufo-Addo has refuted assertions by the Speaker of Parliament that he has become a lame-duck president following the election of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer for the 2024 election. According to him, he will continue to serve as President of the country until January 7 2025, as stipulated by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, on Tuesday, November 21, urged the government to collaborate with the Minority side to avoid potential stalemates.

The former Nadowli Kaleo lawmaker suggested that with Bawumia’s election, there will be a shift in loyalties towards him and, MPs might be neglecting their obligations to the incumbent, President Akufo-Addo, whom he referred to as a ‘lame duck’ administration.

“I expect the majority who have a limping majority leader, limping because when you look at his back you’re less than those in front of you.

“You have a lame duck president, a lame duck because you have elected a flagbearer and loyalty and commitment are shifting. So your president is now lame duck president.”

“You need this side of the house to support you to finish your eight years. And so if you don’t behave well we have a difficulty in proceeding as a nation,” he said.

However, while addressing a gathering of chiefs and residents in Nima, Accra, President Akufo-Addo affirmed that he remains in charge of the country until January 7, 2025, as prescribed by the constitution.

“Speaker Bagbin says I am a lame duck. Well, that is his language. I am still the president of the republic and I will continue to do so until January 7, 2025. I have no doubt that the power to make decisions and to carry out policies is still firmly in my hands, and I am not going to let it go.”

“So I don’t know what he is talking about when he says I am a lame-duck president. I am not a lame-duck president,” President Akufo-Addo stated.