Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Member of Parliament for Effutu, has denounced Speaker Alban Bagbin for approving a resolution by Haruna Iddrisu calling for the resignation of four MPs, calling the action illegal.
Afenyo-Markin contended that Speaker Bagbin has the legal jurisdiction to issue such a decision because no legislation gives him the ability to order MPs to leave their seats during an interview on Citi FM’s Citi Breakfast Show with host Bernard Avle on Friday, October 18.
“The speaker has no such mandate to make a ruling on a statement under Order 93. In our rules book, when a statement is made, members are allowed to make comments and if Mr Speaker after the comments, wants to make consequential orders, he refers the thing to a committee and Order 93(6) is very clear and we drew his attention to this and so he had no such power to make a ruling on a statement and it has never happened and it is not part of our rules.
“If an applicant wants a matter to be determined, it comes by way of a motion. Now, one will wonder why Mr. Speaker decided to set aside Haruna Iddrisu’s notice of motion or the matter to be determined?”
Andrew Amoako Asiamah, an independent member for Fomena who has re-joined the NPP in anticipation of the 2024 elections, Peter Kwakye-Ackah, the NDC MP for Amenfi Central, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, the NPP MP for Agona West, and Kwadjo Asante, the NPP MP for Suhum, were all impacted by Bagbin’s decision.
Afenyo-Markin went on to say that before rendering a decision, the Speaker ought to have sent the controversial issue to a committee for discussion.
He claims that the hurried decision has caused confusion and will impact legislative business until it is settled.
“When someone serves a notice, your duty is to admit it and a committee will go through the motion and he has created a whole confusion and I don’t know to what end and don’t know what has become of the motion.
“The speaker was just in a rush to create confusion. I told him he could not do that and the Hansard is my witness and he wanted to have a banter with me but I vowed not to go that way with him.”
Source: Citinewsroom