Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken a swipe at Nana Bediatuo Asante, Executive Secretary to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Bediatuo has hogged the headlines over a letter he wrote urging the Clerk of Parliament to cease and desist from transmitting the anti-LGBT+ Bill to the presidency for assent, citing two legal suits against the Bill.

The tone of the letter and its contents have been deemed contemptuous of the House, especially by opposition lawmakers and Speaker Alban Bagbin.

Ablakwa, in giving his take on the letter in a social media post dated March 20, 2024, reiterated the view that the presidency should not, by its actions, assume that it can control Parliament.

"I hope President Akufo-Addo’s Secretary, Nana Asante Bediatuo, isn’t assuming he can control the Ghanaian Parliament like he controls Madam Butterfly Restaurant Limited, which he incorporated after becoming Secretary to the President of Ghana.

"Parliament’s constitutional independence must be respected. We shall not be subjected to the control of familial appointees at the presidency!" Ablakwa's post, which was accompanied by company documents with Bediatuo's registration details, read in part.

"I shall reserve the activities of Madam Butterfly for another day. By the way, how different is Bediatuo’s butterfly from Alan’s butterfly? Interesting days ahead," the post concluded

In Speaker Bagbin's formal response to Akufo-Addo's refusal to receive the anti-LGBT+ Bill as stated in Bediatuo's letter, he accused the presidency of acting contrary to the Constitution.

Bagbin also communicated the inability of Parliament to approve some of the president's ministerial nominees at the tail end of his statement, read in Parliament, citing an injunction brought against him and Parliament by an opposition MP.

Source: Ghanaweb