A communications team member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said they will shed blood to protect Ghana’s democracy.
Alhaji Mohammed Nasiru said the behaviour of the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, in Parliament on Monday, December 20, 2021, was tantamount to a coup.
He made the comment in support of the Minority’s decision to prevent the Deputy Speaker, popularly known as Joe Wise, from participating in the voting to decide whether the controversial E-levy should be accepted under a certificate of urgency or not.
They maintained that, once Joe Wise was presiding over the House, he does not have a casting right. Some Minority MPs tried to physically prevent him from leaving and were met by some Majority MPs which resulted in a brawl.
This conduct by the MPs has been condemned by Ghanaians for bringing the name of Parliament into disrepute.
But Alhaji Nasiru on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem programme Tuesday commended the Minority for the spirited fight they put in Parliament.
Their conduct, he explained, is in the interest of Ghanaians who are languishing in abject poverty under the bad governance of President Nana Akufo-Addo.
“We will kill to protect democracy. Joe Osei Owusu whimsically and capriciously tried to circumvent the standing order of Parliament. He is a threat to Ghana’s democracy,” he fumed.
Alhaji Nasiru revealed that the NDC and the Minority have resolved to put Ghana first and oppose any policy which will affect the ordinary Ghanaian.
“We will defend the constitution of Ghana with the last fiber of our bodies,” he stressed.
In a rebuttal, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, Alhaji Awal, called the bluff of the NDC.
He said the conduct of the Minority is populism and part of a grand scheme to frustrate the Akufo-Addo government.
The NPP man could not fathom why Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin will leave Parliament ahead of voting for the E-levy.
“I am convinced Bagbin deliberately left the Chamber to cause this confusion. But we shall prevail,” he stated.