Efutu Member of Parliament and Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has told of his frustration in trying to engage with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to resolve the impasse currently confronting the house.
He says Alban Bagbin has frustrated several attempts he has personally made to engage him, along with several moves by respected bodies and prominent chiefs, all of which the Speaker has spurned.
Afenyo-Markin laid the blame on Newsfile on Joy FM at the weekend.
With about two months to round up its term, Parliament has been embroiled in what appears to be an intractable controversy following Speaker Bagbin’s declaration of four seats as vacant, and a subsequent ruling by the Supreme Court staying the Speaker’s decision.
Following disagreements between the New Patriotic Party caucus and the National Democratic Congress caucus over the status of the two rulings – by Speaker Bagbin and the Supreme Court – Parliament has recently had to adjourn indefinitely on two occasions.
Many have called for cool heads to resolve the impasse and for the leadership of Parliament to show true leadership and resolve the matter amicably.
As of Saturday, November 9, 2024, the divisions remained unpatched, with no clear sign of when Parliament would reconvene to finish the year.
On Newsfile, Afenyo-Markin said that soon after the Supreme Court ruled not to vacate its stay of execution orders against Bagbin’s declaration of the four seats as vacant, he (Afenyo-Markin) made several calls to the Speaker, all of which went unanswered.
He followed up with a visit to Bagbin’s house, and even though he was home, he (Afenyo-Markin) was told Bagbin was asleep.
“I went there again, but he was not ready to receive me. Apart from that, members of the Council of State and Peace Council tried to engage him, including prominent chiefs…,” he told his host, Samson Lardy Anyenini.
Listen to Afenyo-Markin tell his own story in the attached audio.
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