The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has said he will not be intimidated by any caucus, following Tuesday’s walkout by the Minority side over his decision to order the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, out of the Chamber.
He described the Minority’s decision to leave the Chamber collectively as protest against his decision as “completely wrong”.
He said there was no justification for the caucus to collectively defy his directive because one of its members had been ordered out of the House.
No need for collective walkout
Addressing the House at the commencement of sitting on the second day on Wednesday (Nov 4), Mr Bagbin said he would continue to discharge his responsibilities based on what he considered “right and in the national interest”, regardless of pressure from either side of the House.
“Please, there is no way Mr Speaker, seated here, can be intimidated by any caucus, and it will not happen. I will do what I believe is right and in the national interest, simple and short,” he said.
Minority’s walkout
The Minority Caucus, led by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, on Tuesday evening walked out of the Chamber in protest against the Speaker’s decision to order Mr Jinapor out following a disagreement over allegations that Ghanaian diplomatic passports were being sold.
No need for walkout
Mr Bagbin said the walkout would be duly captured in Parliament’s official records as an incident that occurred on the floor of the House.
He, however, questioned the decision by the Minority MPs to leave collectively, saying their action was an unnecessary response to the disciplinary directive against one of their colleagues.
“There was actually, from my perspective as the Speaker, no need for the Minority to decide to flout my directive collectively because a member of them had been ordered to be sent out of the House,” he said.
Parliamentary records
Mr Bagbin explained that the Minority’s sudden departure, without prior notice or explanation, prevented him from taking further action on Mr Jinapor’s remarks.
He said he had intended to follow up with the Office of the Clerk on whether the MP’s comments should be expunged from the official record but could not proceed because the Minority members had left the Chamber.
“That was completely wrong and because they left without notice, without a word, I could not even follow up to call on the Office of the Clerk to expunge what he (Mr Jinapor) said,” he explained.
He added: “You realised I did not follow up with that; I just left it as it happened because I could not have done that in their absence.”
Diplomatic passport allegations
The walkout followed a heated exchange between Mr Jinapor and the Speaker after the former raised concerns about reports that Ghanaian diplomatic passports were being sold for amounts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
Mr Jinapor, who is the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told the House that there was “unimpeachable evidence” of the alleged sale of the passports and called for the matter to be brought before Parliament for investigation.
“As we speak today, there is evidence, unimpeachable evidence, that today diplomatic passports are being sold, Mr Speaker,” he told the House.
He said the alleged practice required urgent attention because of its potential implications for Ghana’s international standing.
He also pointed out that, by law, the authority to grant diplomatic passports rested with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, stressing that the documents were subject to a thorough process because of the privileges and international responsibilities associated with their use.
“By law, it is only the Minister who has the authority to grant diplomatic passports in our country,” he said.
Majority objection
However, his attempt to raise the matter was interrupted by the Majority Leader, James Agalga, who objected to the statement on the grounds that it constituted a serious allegation of criminal conduct which required substantiation.
Mr Agalga argued that Mr Jinapor should provide evidence to support the allegation before it could be admitted as part of proceedings in the House.
He consequently urged the Speaker to direct the MP to withdraw the allegation and have the relevant portion expunged from the parliamentary records.
In response, Mr Jinapor maintained that he had evidence to support his claim, insisting that the matter was already in the public domain.
“Mr Speaker, I have evidence. That allegation is out there,” he said.
