The Minority in Parliament has issued a terse warning it will hold the President Akufo-Addo government responsible should the security of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban S.K. Bagbin, be comprised in any way.
The Caucus denounced the withdrawal of the military detail attached to the Office of the Speaker and described it as sad and shameful.
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu, in a statement, noted though the only reason for the withdrawal was that the attachment was done without following proper procedure, the government failed to spell out the procedure for the attachment of military personnel to high profile personalities.
According to him, if the action of the Military High Command is in good faith, the irregularity in relation to the attachment could have been rectified without necessarily having to withdraw the personnel.
“The only logical conclusion a reasonable mind would draw with respect to the failure of government to indicate the nature of the procedure supposedly breached by Mr. Speaker’s outfit is that proper procedure was followed for which reason the military high command had no difficulty attaching the military personnel in question to his office.”
“Indeed, the Clerk to Parliament on the 21st January, 2021 did write to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces and duly requested the attachment of the military personnel in question. At this point, the Chief of Staff did not detect any procedural irregularities in relation to Mr. Speaker’s request.”
“However, one year on the same Chief of Staff who on behalf of the military high command granted the request now wants Ghanaians to believe that he acted in error in the first instance? The posturing of the Chief of Staff in this regard is, to say the least, preposterous,” he said.
The Minority leader stressed the attachment of military personnel to the Office of the Speaker is not an isolated incident as many members of the executive branch of government besides the President and the Vice President who are even below the Speaker of Parliament in terms of status and rank as provided for in the 1992 Constitution have at various times had soldiers attached to their officers.
“A notable example is the current Attorney General and Minister for Justice who, even as deputy Attorney General had a soldier for his bodyguard.”
“Another example of a state official below the speaker in terms of status and rank who roams town with military protection is the chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Madam Jean Mensah,” he added.
Hon. Haruna Iddrisu noted the action of the Military High Command relative to the withdrawal of Mr. Speaker’s security detail is politically motivated and calculated to diminish his confidence in his bid to impartially and independently steer the affairs of the legislative arm of government.
The Minority demanded the immediate withdrawal of the letter with ref no: GH/ 1002/ 01/ COS written on behalf of the Armed Forces by the Chief of Staff purporting to withdraw the military personnel attached to the Speaker’s office.
Source: Mypublisher24.com