You cannot contort ruling of Parliament to suit you- Majority Leader tells Bagbin
The Majority Leader has expressed disagreements with the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin to refer to the plenary the matter of whether to sack Dome-Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu says the ruling is inconsistent with the Constitution.
Speaker Bagbin Wednesday ruled that the Privileges Committee report, which recommended her removal from office, is not final.
According to him, the ruling must be debated upon and adopted or rejected by plenary, as a result, the motion by the Majority Leader to have Adwoa Safo’s seat declared vacant is untenable.
However, in a press briefing shortly after the ruling, the Majority Leader did not hide his disappointment.
According to him, Speaker Bagbin is setting a bad precedent for the House.
The MP who doubles as the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs insisted that the Speaker of Parliament’s ruling is inconsistent with his earlier ones.
This, he said flouts Article 97 of the law which was quoted as justification in the Speaker’s determination.
“Where is Mr Speaker sending this Parliament? And I insist his ruling is most unfortunate, cannot be supported by the constitution. He is trying to insist that it is a motion that is required and if a motion is required, he needs to approve of the motion but I’m insisting that this does not call for a motion.
“It doesn’t call for a motion at all. It should come to us by way of an information. As simple as that and he cannot contort the ruling of this house to suit whatever he deems appropriate.
“The constitution is clear. The constitution makes exceptions and that is where we are,” he disagreed.
He has thus served notice that his side will challenge the ruling by Mr Speaker.
What did Privileges Committee recommend?
The Privileges Committee recommended that the 40-year-old’s seat is declared vacant after she failed to provide an explanation for her absence.
Source: Ghana News
