General News of Saturday, 4 January 2025

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Watch playful moment between Akufo-Addo and Speaker Bagbin during the SONA presentation

President Akufo-Addo [L] and Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin President Akufo-Addo [L] and Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin

President Nana Akufo-Addo's presentation of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Parliament on Friday, January 3, 2025, which was his last before exiting office on January 7, included a humorous moment that had Members of Parliament and other dignitaries in the House laughing.

This occurred during a playful back-and-forth between the President and Speaker Alban Bagbin.

During his presentation, the President was heckled by the Minority side, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament, after he stated that the country is not broke.

"Mr. Speaker, the country is not broke, as some propagandists want us to believe. We are handing over a country with gross international reserves of almost $8 billion. This is more than the $6.2 billion in gross international reserves my administration inherited in 2017," President Akufo-Addo declared, prompting strong reactions from the MPs, who accused him of spreading falsehoods.

In response to the uproar, Speaker Alban Bagbin interjected, addressing the dissenting MPs: “Your statistics may be different, but that doesn’t mean he is deceiving the House.”

Unfazed by the commotion, Akufo-Addo responded with a sharp rebuttal, smiling as he addressed the MPs.

“The noise will not shatter the statistics. The statistics cannot be different. They cannot be different,” he said.

He continued, insisting with confidence that the country’s financial status was solid, adding, "The truth is indivisible; it is one and one only."

Then, Speaker Alban Bagbin playfully responded to the President, telling him he was "out of order."

"As an accomplished Member of Parliament, you are out of order," Bagbin remarked with a smile.

The President laughed off the comment and continued with his speech.



KA

Watch as Akufo-Addo touts Ghana's economy as resilient contrary to claims of 'being broke'