Bernard Ahiafor

Bernard Ahiafor is a lawyer and National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Akatsi South in the Volta Region who was elected First Deputy Speaker of Ghana's Ninth Parliament in January 2025. He was born on 6 February 1973 and comes from Atidzive.

Education

Ahiafor went to primary and middle school in Atidzive and Akatsi, then to Abor Senior High School and Keta Secondary School. He earned his first degree at the University of Ghana, completed the professional law course at the Ghana School of Law and also holds a diploma in applied insurance from the Ghana Insurance College.

Twelve years on the backbench and front bench

He entered Parliament through a by-election in 2013, after Akatsi South's MP, Edward Doe Adjaho, was elected Speaker. He won comfortably in 2016 and took about 84 percent of the vote in 2020. As a lawyer he became a key member of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.

Deputy Speaker

After the NDC won a large majority in 2024, the party's caucus nominated him on 6 January 2025 as First Deputy Speaker, and he was elected the next day, with the NPP's Andrew Asiamah Amoako as Second Deputy Speaker. He presides over the House when Speaker Alban Bagbin is absent.