The speaker of Parliament Edward Kobly Doe Adjaho has taken a bow after being a part of the institution of Parliament from the inception of the 4th Republican parliament in January 1993.
The atmosphere in the Chamber was sombre as the curtain was drawn on the activities of the 6th Parliament of the 4th Republic. Quiet goodbyes were said as Members reminisced about the past four years.
Rt. Hon. Adjaho, the Fifth Speaker of the Fourth Republican Parliament, was born on the 3rd of January, 1957. He had his secondary education from1972 to 1979 at Accra Academy. He attended the University of Ghana, Legon, where he majored in Law and was awarded LL.B. (Hons.)degreein1984. He continued to the Ghana School of Law where he trained to become a Barrister-at-Lawin1986.
He worked at the Attorney-General’s Department as a State Attorney. He also served as a member of the Consultative Assembly which drafted the1992 Constitution.
In 1992, he resigned his position as State Attorney and contested the parliamentary elections of that year in preparation for the return of the country to constitutional rule. He was duly elected and entered Parliament in January, 1993, as the Member of Parliament for the Ave-Avenor constituency. Thereafter, he won five consecutive parliamentary elections.
While a Member of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Adjaho occupied the following leadership positions:
• First Deputy Speaker
• Deputy Minority Leader
• Minority Chief Whip
• Majority Chief Whip
Rt. Hon. Adjaho also chaired a number of Parliamentary Committees including Appointments, Privileges, Roads and Highways, and Works and Housing. He was also the Chairman of the Standing Orders Committee and the Committee of Selection.
Prior to his election as Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Adjaho served on a number of Commissions and Public Boards including the National Media Commission and the Law Reforms Commission. He is also a past Chairman of the Board of the National Health Insurance Authority.
He was a member of the Permanent Negotiation Team set up to seek a peaceful settlement of the ethnic conflict that erupted in Northern Ghanaian 1994.
Rt.Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho was a member of the group of Legal Experts and Parliamentarians who worked on the Consultant’s Report on the Constitutive Act of the African Union and the Protocol to the Treaty establishing the Pan-African Parliament. He is also a former Member of the Pan- African Parliament. He is a former Chairman of the Ghana Chapter of the African Parliamentarians Network Against Corruption (APNAC) and a founding member of the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC).
Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho worked with the National Democratic Institute of the United States of America to review the constitutions of political parties in Uganda prior to that country’s return to constitutional rule. He also worked with the same institute to train the Sudanese Opposition Party as a prelude to the formation of the Government of National Unity.
Rt. Hon. Adjaho was elected Speaker after 20 years of uninterrupted parliamentary career during which period he underwent training in Parliamentary Practice, Procedure and Administration both locally in the Ghanaian Parliament and internationally from several countries including the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia and Canada, among others.
On his election as Speaker of the Sixth Parliament of the Fourth Republic, on 7th January, 2013, Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho vacated his seat as Member of Parliament for Akatsi South in accordance with the 1992Constitution.He thus became the first sitting Member of Parliament to be elected as Speaker in the Fourth Republic.
In 2013, he was invited by the Speaker of the Kenyan National Assembly to assist in conducting a post elections for their National Assembly .Rt. Hon .Adjaho has received a number of recognitions and was awarded Doctor of Law (Honoris Causa), LLD, hc, by the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), in 2013. He is a member of the Ghana Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
In his final remarks to the House, Edward Kobly Does Adjaho enumerated most of the successes chalked by the 6th Parliament and expressed the hope that the coming Parliament will build on the successes of the out 6th Parliament. Some of the achievements include the refurbishment of the chamber, the completion of the Job 600 Office Complex, the setting up of a police station and a fire station. Capacity building was also a major focus of the 6th Parliament and most staff of the institution had the opportunity of learning from parliament.
In terms of legislation, the House passed a total of 75 Bills and 66 Instruments. Various motions were moved and adopted on varied issues. Committees were further strengthened with some committee meetings being broadcast live on some media networks.
The maverick politician has contributed immensely to the Development of Ghana’s 4th Republican Parliaments. The history of Ghana’s legislature cannot be written without mention of great men like the Speaker of the 6th Parliament.
Other major players leaving Parliament include Benjamin Kumbuor, Papa Owusu Ankomah, Joe Baidoe Ansah, Fritz Baffour, Cletus Avoka, Alfred Agbesi, Naa Torshie Addo, Nii Amasa Namoale and many other seasoned politicians who have been part of many of the 4th Republican Parliaments.
