walk out – Adomonline.com

Majority Caucus walking out over Asiedu Nketia’s presence in Parliament was absurd – Kweku Baako

Gertrude Okyere — Sat, 04 Dec 2021 21:47:38 +0000

The Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide Newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, has expressed displeasure at the behaviour of Members of Parliament (MPs) in the events preceding the approval of the 2022 Budget.

According to him, the Majority Caucus walking out of the chamber due to the presence of the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia, was unsustainable.

“I nearly said nonsensical. It’s unsustainable. The truth of the matter is that Asiedu Nketia’s presence at the gallery was of no movement, no consequence. It could not be compared to ministers in the Chamber.

“I suspect because they realised they didn’t have the full complement of their numbers, they chose that route.”

He told the host of Newsfile that MPs banging on tables and making noise when the law doesn’t favour them and staging a walkout is a “wrong-headed” strategy.

“Ordinarily, if the Majority had had the full complement of their numbers the day Speaker Bagbin was in the chair, they would have passed the budget.

“But they didn’t have the full complement of their numbers, so they misbehaved by sighting Asiedu Nketia’s presence in the gallery.”

His comments come at the back of the Majority staging a walkout after the Speaker directed Ministers of State who are non-MPs to vacate the chamber to allow MPs to take a division vote on whether to postpone the vote on whether the Finance Minister should be allowed to engage the House further.

But speaking to the press shortly after the walkout, the Majority Leader said Mr Bagbin was behaving like he was the Speaker for the only one side.

He described the conduct of the Speaker as appalling.

Mr Baako said the Majority Caucus walking out indicates politics without integrity.

“Find some other credible reasons to give. But if you advance the point of Asiedu Nketia’s presence in the gallery being the basis for your walkout, it cannot be sustained in parliamentary terms,” he said.

Minority walk-out was well planned – Majority leader

Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 13:34:14 +0000

Majority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has said that Minority’s boycott of Parliament over claims of bias against the Speaker of the House, Prof Mike Oquaye was well planned.
The Minority on Tuesday, 1 August staged a walk-out during deliberations on the controversial $510 million AMERI power deal.
The walk-out followed concerns raised by the Minority that they were being gagged and prevented from making contributions on the floor.
They accused the Speaker of muzzling them, thus had no alternative but to walk out as a sign of protest.
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu accused Prof Mike Oquaye of being a threat to democracy in parliament.
But speaking on the issue, Mr. Mensah Bonsu pointed out that the Speaker of the House, “in his wisdom” taking into consideration the motion noting fraudulent claim, felt the matter was too weighty to be continued so the member should move to the committee on energy and submit what information has come to him to the Committee.
“I don’t know what has come over the Minority. The speaker thought the matter was too weighty and so ordered that it be moved to the energy committee and that is what our members from the minority failed to appreciate and then walked out.
“They had already planned what they intend doing even before coming to parliament so I’m not surprised at all” he said.
According to Mr. Mensah Bonsu, the motive behind the referral of the motion to the Mines and Energy Committee was to allow the Committee to reconsider the deal since it advised Parliament to approve it in the first place in 2015.
“Their behavoiur is strange and I as a colleague in leadership and looking at the demeanour they put up get worried because they want to indulge in pettiness and this does not help anybody” he noted on Accra based Okay FM.

Minority walks out of parliament

Dorcas Abedu-Kennedy — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 15:38:45 +0000

The Minority in parliament staged a walk-out on Tuesday, 1 August during deliberations on the controversial $510 million AMERI power deal.

The walkout followed concerns raised by Minority MPs that they were being gagged and prevented from making contributions on the floor.
The Majority caucus booed, shooed and chanted ‘away, away,away’ as the NDC MPs filed out of the chamber in anger and frustration.
Minutes before the walk-out, the Minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu was seen furiously gesticulating at his opposite number after the Speaker had shot down his objections to a motion on the AMERI deal.
Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo reported on Asempa FM’s Ekosi Sen Tuesday that, the minority accused the Speaker of muzzling them, thus had no alternative but to walk out as a sign of protest.

Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu accused Prof Mike Oquaye of being a threat to democracy in parliament.
In a press conference shortly after the walk-out on Tuesday, 1 August, Mr Iddrisu said: “We (Minority) had no option than to protest the manner in which he (Speaker) is endangering parliamentary democracy and its practice”.

“Let me place on record to protest against the conduct of the Speaker in referring a motion to a committee of parliament – a motion which has not been debated and a motion for which no decision has been taken.

“This is a house governed by procedure and a house governed by rules and standing orders. Nowhere – and I challenge you to peruse the standing orders and give us basis and justification for the referral,” he argued.

Mr Iddrisu said the current parliament cannot cancel a decision taken by the previous parliament, adding that if there are any issues with the deal, the best place to resolve that will be in court.

The Tamale South MP said a Supreme Court has ruled in a different case sometime back that: “Once parliament gives approval, matters now rest in the realm of the judiciary once there is a contract in force”.

He said the Minority were seeking proper interpretation of the standing orders as to whether one can just get up to rescind a decision taken by a previous parliament.

“The matter the 6th Parliament considered was referred to it by the Executive, we have since not gotten a response to it and the Speaker was not prepared to interpret the standing orders even though he is vested with the authority to do so,” he underscored.

“For the record, our boycott is not because of an Ameri motion but its admissibility and the way he is respecting the rules and the standing orders. How can you refer a motion to a committee of parliament; a motion which has not been debated for which there is no decision and a motion for which the Minority is raising a constitutional, legal objection? The Supreme Court ruled…and we think the appropriate forum is the court.”