The New Patriotic Party caucus in Parliament has vowed to compel the Speaker to follow due process insisting he adjourned Parliament sine dine without proper engagement.
According to them, the Speaker had not engaged the NPP caucus in parliament on seating arrangements, which led to their absence in the chamber after they requested a recall of parliament.
Speaking to the media after the adjournment, Afenyo Markin stated that Speaker Alban Bagbin knew the right thing was to engage all parties and allow the NDC to sit on his left, but “he refused.”
The leader of the NPP caucus further argued that while the Speaker presides over Parliament, the members themselves determine the parliamentary agenda.
He therefore promised to recall Parliament to facilitate the businesses they requested in a memo to the speaker to be deliberated upon and transacted including any other business that comes before the House.
Meanwhile, the leader of the NDC caucus, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson has expressed disappointment in the NPP caucus for not showing up in parliament after they recalled parliament.
“We are extremely disappointed in the NPP minority caucus. First of all, a recall of parliament under Article 112 (3) of Ghana’s Constitution and Standing Orders 5 and 53 failed to show up. Two, we left our busy schedule, suspended our campaigns and reported to duty this morning only to see that the NPP members of parliament who actually recalled parliament, we noticed that they failed to show up,” he said
Dr. Forson said the actions of the NPP caucus show disrespect to the constitution and have caused the country to lose financially.
“What we are seeing here is an abuse of the constitution and the standing orders of Ghana’s parliament. The NPP minority caucus has indeed caused financial loss to the state and to us the NDC members of parliament and to the people of Ghana,” stated Dr. Ato Forson.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to penalize the NPP caucus for acting unlawfully.
“We call on the people of Ghana to see the behaviour of the NPP and punish them accordingly…Certainly, everything shows that the NPP are tired, they are fed up and they are not ready to work for the people,” he intimated.
Read also: Speaker Adjourns Parliament as NPP MPs Boycott Recall
Source: Fred Thompson Quartey/ATLFMNEWS
