The Minority in Parliament has slammed Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin’s decision to order its member, Samuel Abu Jinapor, out of the chamber following a disagreement over attempts to raise concerns about the alleged sale of Ghanaian diplomatic passports.
The Minority described the Speaker’s action as “high-handed and unfair”, insisting that the Damongo MP had complied with the directive to withdraw the contentious portion of his submission before the order was issued.
The incident occurred after Mr Abu Jinapor attempted to raise concerns about alleged compromises in Ghana’s diplomatic passport system, amid claims that the travel documents are being sold from GH¢50,000 to GH¢10,000.
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Majority Leader James Agalga objected to the claims, arguing that they are not supported by facts.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who walked his group out in solidarity to the Damongo MP, addressed the media afterwards, where he disagreed with the Speaker and insisted MPs should be allowed to bring matters of public interest before Parliament for investigation, even where allegations require further verification.
Mr Afenyo-Markin argued that the appropriate procedure would have been to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs to make a statement on the matter.
He also proposed the establishment of a bipartisan committee, where necessary, to investigate the allegations and establish the facts surrounding the alleged sale of diplomatic passports.
The Minority Leader maintained that Mr Abu Jinapor had complied with the Speaker’s instruction to withdraw the relevant portion of his submission, questioning why he was subsequently ordered out of the chamber.
Mr Afenyo-Markin explained that he had attempted to catch the Speaker’s attention to resolve the disagreement but was unsuccessful.
The Caucus said it would engage the Speaker further to clarify parliamentary procedures and prevent similar incidents in the future.
The Minority leader also accused the Majority Chief Whip of deliberately disrupting proceedings during the Minority Leader’s opening remarks, alleging that he stood up twice to interrupt his address.
He contrasted the conduct with the respect he claimed the Minority accord the Majority Leader during his interventions.
The Minority leader accused the Majority side of becoming intolerant of opposing views and called on the Speaker to ensure fairness in parliamentary proceedings.
He argued that Majority MPs have escaped similar reprimands despite committing what he described as more serious infractions.