Franklin Cudjoe, the Founding President of Imani Africa, has referred to the Minority in Parliament as truants following their decision to boycott Parliament in protest against the prosecution of some of their members.
However, Cudjoe also posed a question regarding how else they should fight against what they perceive as ‘persecution.’
Cudjoe expressed his viewpoint in a Facebook post, stating, “Truancy. Truant Minority MPs. But then, how else should they fight off precocious persecution against a good man, Gyakye Quayson? My call on the A-G still stands. Abandon the persecution of Quayson and focus on SALL.”
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament on Thursday, July 6, abstained from parliamentary sittings to accompany and show solidarity with two of their caucus members, the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and Assin North lawmaker, James Gyakye Quayson, who were appearing in court due to ongoing prosecutions initiated by the Attorney-General and the NPP Government.
Minority Chief Whip Kwame Agbodza released a statement explaining the boycott, stating, “The Minority stands united with our colleagues, and as such, will not be able to honour the business of the house today. This is the beginning of a series of actions that the Caucus will be embarking on to end the ongoing persecution of the Minority Leader himself, Hon. James Gyakye Quayson, and Hon. Collins Dauda. We wish to reiterate the point that amidst persecution, cooperation will suffer.”
The Minority emphasized that cooperation within the House will be challenging to achieve in light of the ongoing trial.
Previously, Minority Leader Ato Forson had announced that the caucus had decided to stand in solidarity with James Gyakye Quayson until the conclusion of his court trial.
This decision was made immediately after Mr. Gyakye Quayson was sworn in as an MP, following a Supreme Court ruling deeming his election invalid.
In his remarks after the swearing-in ceremony, Ato Forson informed the House that the Minority would not participate in parliamentary activities on days when the Assin North member had to appear in court.
He stated, “We are solidarizing with our colleague, and we will not participate in the business of the House anytime our colleague is in court, and we will be withdrawing from the chamber after this ceremony if the court processes indeed happen today.”
