Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has finally addressed and dismissed persistent rumours that former Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, voted for him during the closely contested election that made him Speaker of the 8th Parliament.
Bagbin, who was elected Speaker in January 2021 following a tense and chaotic voting process, was widely believed to have secured the position with the help of at least one New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP crossing party lines—a move that triggered internal controversy within the NPP. Adwoa Safo was frequently singled out as the suspected defector.
However, during a meeting with the family of Apostle Kwadwo Safo in his office on Monday, October 13, Mr. Bagbin publicly exonerated the former lawmaker, stating that she did not vote for him and was wrongly accused.
“I call her my daughter because when I came to Parliament, she was a small girl,” Bagbin said. “So, I began calling her my daughter before she joined politics and entered Parliament. But we belong to different political traditions.”
He attributed the longstanding suspicion to his close personal bond with Adwoa Safo. “Because she is my daughter and we love each other, when I was contesting to be Speaker, they thought she voted for me,” he explained.
The Speaker’s comments put to rest years of speculation that have overshadowed Adwoa Safo’s political career and contributed to internal rifts within the NPP following the razor-thin vote that led to Bagbin’s historic election as Speaker.
