According to Prof. Kwaku Asare, also known as Kwaku Azar, a private lawyer and accounting professor, the eight parliament was created out of intrigue and fostered in turmoil.

The lawyer claimed in an opinion post that the right Parliament was rife with scandals and will be formally dissolved today, Monday, January 6, 2025.

He mentioned a number of events that defined the eight patients, such as the shifts in leadership between the majority and minority caucuses.

Prof. Azar also brought up the demand made by a few Majority NPP MPs to remove Ken Ofori-Atta from his position as finance minister because of his alleged incapacity.

He also mentioned the deadlock between the Supreme Court and the Speaker over the designation of about four seats as vacant.

For the first time in Umuofia's history, more than half of the MPs from the ruling party called for the Finance Minister to be fired due to his incapacity. Unimpressed and unconcerned, the President kept the minister, who happened to be a member of his family. Even when the country's finances are on the line, as they say, blood is thicker than water.

With the exception of their last-minute reconvening to decide on emoluments and ex-gratia, the 8th Parliament was unofficially ended by the application of the Ocquaye-Fomena doctrine, which caused the Chief Justice to yell, "Constitutional crisis (what's going on?)." The MPs made sure their golden parachutes were undamaged and locked their doors to the public in a rare display of solidarity.

See his complete opinion piece below.

Intrigue gave birth to the 8th Parliament of Umuofia, which grew into a spectacle that no dramatist could have imagined more brilliantly.

It was tainted from the start by controversy, which is a sin because it excluded some Umuofia's because of a dubious directive from the Electoral Commission.

A parliament doomed to drama, dysfunction, and the occasional dash of absurdity was set in motion by this sin.

A Split Parliament

The numbers—137-137-1—said it everything. A perfect split, when the balance of power is held by one independent MP. Now the most sought-after man in Umuofia, this lone wolf had been banished by his party and rejected by the president.

His nomination as Deputy Speaker—by the same party that had previously rejected him—crowned the irony of his political comeback. It seems that the voters had the last say, demonstrating once more that there are plenty of second chances in politics, particularly when the statistics support it.

Speaker Wars: Flying MPs and Midnight Ballots

There are legends surrounding the Speaker's election. The NPP brought back a speaker who was so unpopular that he previously interpreted a resounding "no" vote as a "yes" in order to advance the controversial GLC legal teaching tool.

In the meantime, the NDC, recognizing weakness, timely selected Bagbin, a seasoned lawmaker.

Then the drama began: The Honorable MP from Tema chose to grab certain ballots and flee as the results were being counted. Before any votes were damaged, an NDC MP tackled him after he ran through the sacred corridors with Olympic-level tenacity.

The sanctity of Umuofia's democracy was tainted by the soldiers—yes, soldiers—who crowded the chamber amid the commotion. The identity of the person who issued such order is still unknown.

The NDC won when everything was said and done and the votes were ultimately tabulated. Despite their numerical "advantage," the ruling party suffered a humiliating defeat when Bagbin was chosen Speaker.

A Parliament of Differing Views

Irony was the lifeblood of the 8th Parliament. Under the same "Ocquaye-Fomena Doctrine," the NPP, which had previously written to the Speaker to remove the Fomena MP who had become independent, was now battling to shield its own MPs from similar decisions.

Many Umuofians were angered by the discrepancy and questioned sharply, "What do you really stand for?"

The Supreme Court sideshow followed. The MP for Assin North was removed from Parliament after being barred from office for 15 months, which resulted in a by-election in which he won by an even greater majority.

However, the same court had earlier ruled that MPs may still carry out their duties even when they were presiding over parliamentary proceedings. This decision left Umuofians incredulous.

The Mystery Flights and the E-Levy

Even the notorious E-Levy vote was a circus. Rumors circulated that a long-absent MP would be flown in on a chartered jet to cast her ballot. Did she do it? Was it a fake? There was a lot of conjecture in the hall, but one thing was certain: the E-Levy was approved, and the Umuofians would have to pay the price.

Coups in Leadership and Judicial Opposition

The drama did not spare the leadership of Parliament. The NDC unexpectedly announced that it has replaced its mainstays Muntaka Mubarak and Haruna Iddrisu with the Forson-Agbodza duo. To mark the end of an era, the NPP, wanting to be outdone, installed Afenyo-Markin in place of its senior leader Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu.

Two Supreme Court nominees who were accepted at the committee level, however, were never put to a vote on the floor. The President's judicial candidates had usually passed with little question, thus it was a rare win for the minority and a setback for the president.

A Minister of Finance and Family Relationships

Citing incompetence, more than half of the MPs from the ruling party called for the Finance Minister's dismissal for the first time in Umuofia's history. Unimpressed and unconcerned, the President kept the minister, who happened to be a member of his family. Even when the country's finances are on the line, as they say, blood is thicker than water.

The Last Curtain

With the exception of their last-minute reconvening to decide on emoluments and ex-gratia, the 8th Parliament was unofficially ended by the application of the Ocquaye-Fomena doctrine, which caused the Chief Justice to yell, "Constitutional crisis (what's going on?)." The MPs made sure their golden parachutes were undamaged and locked their doors to the public in a rare display of solidarity.

The 8th Parliament has ended as of this morning. Memories of midnight ballot races, judicial ironies, and a parliament that produced theater, if not outcomes, are all that Umuofians have left behind. Hopefully, the 9th Parliament will bring more honesty and less intrigue, or at the very least, a better screenwriter for the next story.

It's done.

Da Yie!