Deputy Minority Leader, Patricia Appiagyei has raised concerns over the suspension of only four Members of Parliament(MPs) following the chaos at the Appointments Committee vetting.
According to her, there were many actors involved, and she finds it difficult to understand why only four MPs were suspended.
“There were many actors in the chaos, so why only the four? Off the top of my head, I saw Asiedu Nketia’s son, Okyere Baafi, Gakpey, among others,” she stated.
The affected MPs are Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor (Majority Chief Whip), Frank Annoh-Dompreh (Minority Chief Whip), Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli (Gushegu MP), and Jerry Ahmed Shaib (Weija-Gbawe MP).
They have been suspended for two weeks, pending investigations into the incident.
In an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, the Asokwa MP acknowledged that the chaos was unfortunate but charged Speaker Bagbin to reflect on his actions.
“We find it hard to accept the suspension because, mostly, if people are first-time offenders, per order 130, the number of suspension days starts from 4, then 8,” she explained.
“So, what informed the Speaker’s decision? We want to understand the issues because he has no authority to suspend the MPs.”
“If the incident had been investigated, we would have had no issues, but there has been nothing like that. There is no privileges committee, and he single-handedly set up a committee without engaging the leadership. So, we would be happy if he reflects or gives us reasons for his action,” she noted.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker added that the incident calls for a lot of review in parliamentary works and procedures.
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