The Minority in Parliament has officially said its Caucus will not be part of the debate on the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday, 20 February 2020.

Accra 100.5FM’s parliamentary correspondent, Richard Appiah Sarpong, reported that the Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, said the Caucus was boycotting the debate as a matter of principle.

“Our principle is that we are not participating in the debate, we'll not be speaking to it,” Mr Muntaka, who is also the MP for Asawase told the Speaker of Parliament on Tuesday, 25 February 2020 on the floor of the House."

After their walkout on Thursday, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, said his Caucus boycotted the President’s presentation of the State of the Nation Address in protest to several acts of “tyranny” and “impunity” by the Akufo-Addo government, including the recent mid-night demolition of Mr Raymond Archer’s $10 million printing press at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre.

Mr Iddrisu accused President Akufo-Addo of being a tyrant.

“The growing culture of impunity and tyranny that has reached alarming proportions was, once again, on the prowl when agents of National Security demolished businesses belonging to Ghanaians in the private sector located at the Ghana Trade Fair site at dawn under the cover of darkness. Not even a notice was served on the owners to take out their valuables ahead of the barbaric demolition”.

“We are not in any doubt that the cruel nature of the demolition, which has been justified by the President's appointees and spokespersons, was targeted at former award-winning journalist Raymond Archer, who, many in this administration, have not forgiven for his incisive and explosive investigative pieces of yesteryears.

“As noted, these are not normal times. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Our tradition is credited for laying the foundations for this Fourth Republican dispensation. It is our moral duty to the Constitution we swore to protect and the people we serve in this House to rise and resist the oppressor's rule in that enduring and rallying call of our national anthem.

“Our walkout was, therefore, a bold protest against tyranny and to send a very clear message directly to President Akufo-Addo that enough is enough. We shall no longer accept the growing levels of impunity and unconstitutionalism masked by duplicitous and hollow rhetoric.”