Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini has rendered an unqualified apology to the chairman of the vetting committee, Joe Osei Owusu.
The former host of Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji made headlines during the vetting of the Energy Minister Designate when he sought to find out the level of involvement of the nominee in a criminal case in the Bank of New York which had some employees of the Bank prosecuted.
Boakye Agyarko, had prior to joining the Nana Akufo-Addo campaign in 2007 worked as a Senior official in the Bank of New York.
Alhassan Suhuyini gave a background of the fraudulent case involving the Bank and demanded from the nominee to assure the house that he was not at all involved in the criminal activity.
He also asked the nominee to furnish the committee with information about how he got the job, what he did at the bank, when he left the bank and why he left the bank.
The minister designate confirmed that the criminal activity happened and officials of the bank were prosecuted. He was however quick to add that the criminal activity never happened in the Bank of New York where he was Vice President but rather in another branch of the bank outside the jurisdiction of New York.
He found it rather bizarre that he would be asked to advertise his innocence in a criminal activity that never happened in his branch.
He also stated emphatically that at no point did his name come up for investigation in the said criminal matter.
Shortly after the response by the nominee, Alhassan Suhini started protesting and accusing the chair of the committee of trying to intimidate him.
“I am a duly elected Member of Parliament for Tamale North,” he said in anger.
The Chair in apparent disgust with the conduct of the Member of Parliament for Tamale North decided to take away from him his right to ask follow up questions.
The drama at the committee left the general public divided with some supporting the Chair of the committing and others accusing him of trying to intimidate the young MP.
Suhuyini also posted what transpired at the committee on his personal facebook account which attracted some level of attack on the chair of the committee.
He nonetheless took advantage at the vetting of Education Minister designate, Mathew Opoku Prempeh on Tuesday to apologise to the chairman and the committee at large.
“Mr Chairman, let me take the opportunity to apologise for what happened yesterday, I lost my temper…,” he said.
This apology was accepted by the Chairman.