Former UN Governance Advisor, Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has commended Speaker Alban Bagbin’s handling of today’s proceedings in Parliament, describing his decision to adjourn the session indefinitely as ‘wise’.
In an interview on JoyNews‘ The Pulse, Prof. Agyeman-Duah expressed relief that the Speaker’s approach averted what could have been a tense standoff, with both the NPP and NDC Caucuses claiming majority status in the House.
The dispute follows the Speaker’s recent declaration of four parliamentary seats as vacant and the subsequent stay of that decision by the Supreme Court.
During today’s session, the NDC Caucus occupied the seats of the NPP, while the NPP MPs opted to leave the chamber, retreating to their offices pending further instructions from the Speaker.
Despite having enough members to proceed, Speaker Bagbin acknowledged that there were insufficient numbers to take decisions, leading to the adjournment.
It was on the back of this happening that Prof Agyeman-Duah expressed excitement over how Speaker managed the day in Parliament.
According to him, the Speaker’s decision to first and foremost acknowledge the Supreme Court’s message was good.
He added “he [Speaker] said it without any comments. Which means I am not saying I have rejected it or confronting the Supreme Court or anything of that sort, he simply passed the message to all of us.”
“Then secondly, he went through the agenda, read the minutes of the previous meeting then finally, we came to say that based on certain issues, he is indefinitely suspending Parliament. I think it is a wise decision,” he said.
He explained that the adjournment gives room for reflection, adding that the “Speaker is perhaps also going to do further consultations.”
He further noted, “If we want to be a little bit cynical, we can also say that he has done this but he may not also call back Parliament and in the 3 or 4 weeks, the tenure ends and the matter dies.”
Prof Agyemang-Duah called for political actors to consult each other in this period for the sake of preserving peace in this country.
He asserted that there was no need to act to disrupt the Parliamentary process due to end formally in weeks, adding that “if we allow the misunderstanding to fester without any solution and pass to the next phase, it could be a big disservice to the people of Ghana.”
“So, I am really hoping and praying that the Speaker privately with the President, Chief Justice, or whoever matters must put their heads together and find a way to bring some sanity to our political process.
“I believe strongly that it is only private diplomacy that would solve this.”
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