Member of Parliament representing the Yapei-Kusawgu constituency, John Abdulai Jinapor has rendered an unqualified apology for his actions during the election of the Speaker of Parliament on January 7, 2021.
The legislator of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) caucus said upon reflection on what actually happened on the floor, it was prudent to apologise to the people of Ghana as that was not the usual practice.
“On the day of election of the Speaker it was a chaotic situation and in that chaotic situation sometimes we get things wrong especially being overwhelmed with the chaos and that is life. When you get something wrong and you reflect on it, you apologise", he said in an interview with GhanaWeb.
“I think it is normal and like I said I apologise to the people of Ghana and that is not what normally happens on the floor. We are normal good friends and we try to do things the right way, but sometimes as human, as we are, we may get something wrong and when we get that wrong the only thing is to apologise to the people unconditionally. So I maintain that let's move on as a country, let’s learn from whatever errors that happened and ensure that going forward we serve in the interest of the people of Ghana because they are paramount.” He added
The election of the Leadership of the 8th Parliament degenerated into a full-blown crisis with armed military personnel storming the chamber of Parliament to restore order.
In a very dramatic low-point for Ghana’s democracy, some MPs-elect were seen snatching, kicking ballot boxes and voting booths in the chamber which led to the military intervention.
It is based on these actions that John Jinapor has apologised.