The Majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has accused Speaker Alban S.K. Bagbin of instituting new rules in the legislature that undermines the Rule of Law.
According to the Majority, the Speaker appears to have embarked on his venture without prior discussions with the Leadership of the House.
The Caucus, in a statement to media, observed that the refusal by Speaker Bagbin to hand over the member for Madina, Francis Xavier Sosu, to the Ghana Police Service to assist with investigations into alleged offences committed during a recent demonstration in his constituency is a troubling departure from how his predecessors had handled such requests.
“In a letter dated 27th October 2021, the Ghana Police Service officially identified Hon Sonu as a person of interest and, therefore, requested the Speaker to release him to assist with investigations.”
“However, in a response dated 28 October 2021, the Speaker said: “Proceedings of the 3rd Meeting of the 1st Session of the 8th Parliament commenced on Tuesday 26 October 2021 and having regard to the limitations of articles 117 and 118 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic, he is unable to release the Member of Parliament as requested.”
According to the Majority leadership, former Speakers Rt. Hon Joyce Bamford Addo and Edward Doe Adjaho received similar requests during their days in office, and responded by inviting the relevant MPs, held discussions with them, and then asked them to report to the requesting Police or investigative authorities.
“Again, during his tenure as Speaker, Rt Hon Professor Mike Oquaye modified the arrangement, including making the Speaker’s Conference Room available to the Police to meet with MPs they were interested in and to conduct initial investigations.”
“He did this to protect the dignity of MPs while at the same time ensuring that MPs are not put above the law.”
“At all these times, Hon Bagbin, as he then was, had been part of the leadership of the House,” the statement said.
The side expressed firm belief the constitutionally guaranteed immunity for MPs must not only be protected always but jealously guarded as well.
But stressed never should have Parliament make the mistake of allowing immunity to be construed to mean impunity.
“We take a firm view that in the particular case under reference, Parliament, as the law-making art of our democracy, has a constitutional, legal and moral duty to cooperate and collaborate with the Police to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails.”
“Parliament must not be seen to be creating a false regime of two separate laws in Ghana – one for MPs and another for non MPs,” the statement added.
The Majority questioned what has changed in the 8th Parliament and charged the House to ensure the equality of all citizens, including MPs, before the law.
Source: MyPublisher24.com/Osumanu Al-Hassan