Bagbin Dragged To Supreme Court: NPP MP Wants Apex Court’s Verdict On Speaker’s Ruling on Adwoa Safo, Others

• An NPP MP has gone to the Supreme Court to seek constitutional interpretation of Article 97 to decide whether the Speaker's ruling on the matter three absentee MPs is accurate
• MP for Ahafo Ano North, Sulemana Adamu Sanid, just like Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, thinks the Alban Bagbin erred
• The MP wants the recommendations of the Privileges Committee to implemented by Parliament without debate

An NPP MP has filed a suit at the Supreme Court seeking the apex’s interpretation of the ruling by the Speaker on the matter of absenteeism by three legislators.

Governing NPP MP for Ahafo Ano North, Sulemana Adamu Sanid, is convinced that when Alban Bagbin ruled that a Privileges Committee report on Sarah Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey, should be debated, his ruling breached the constitution.

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The NPP MP wants “the Supreme Court to clarify the operationalisation of Article 97 (1) (c) to be sure if the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament was in consonance with the 1992 Constitution.”

The Speaker ruled on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, that Parliament should receive the report of the committee and have its contents debated upon.

The Privileges Committee report recommended that the Adwoa Safo’s Dome-Kwabenya seat be declared vacant for blatantly breaching Parliament’s rules on absenteeism.

For explaining why they were absent, the Privileges Committee recommended that Henry Quartey, MP for Ayawaso Central, and Ken Agyapong, Assin Central MP, should be spared.

The Speaker said his understanding of the law is that the recommendation by the committee should be subjected to a debate and voted on.

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But the NPP MP thinks the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament is inaccurate.

He believes a Court of Appeal has already set a precedent on the matter, citing the case of Kwaku Asare [Kwaku Azar] vs. Attorney General.

He believes the Court of Appeal ruled that when an MP breaches the Legislature’s rules on absenteeism, this amounts to an "automatic vacation of the seat".

According to him, the only job for the Committee of Privileges in Parliament is for the affected MP(s) to explain why they were absent.

The views of Sulemana Adamu Sanid on the Speaker’s ruling on Wednesday is similar to that of Majority Speaker of Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu. He also raised serious issues with the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament on Wednesday.

Majority Leader Clashes With Speaker Alban Bagbin Over Decision To Let All MPs Vote On Adwoa Safo's Fate

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported previously that Speaker Alban Bagbin and Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu disagreed on Wednesday over the best way to decide the fate of Sarah Adwoa Safo.

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Adwoa Safo has breached Parliament's rules on absenteeism and the Privileges Committee has recommended that her seat be declared vacant and a by-election held to elect a new MP for Dome-Kwabenya.

However, while Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu wants the committee's recommendation to be followed the Speaker ruled that the best thing to do is to put it to a vote in Parliament.

Source: YEN.com.gh