The Minority in Parliament has accused the Majority side of attempting to undermine the authority of the Speaker, Mr Alban Bagbin, in connection with attempts by the police to arrest Madina MP Francis-Xavier Sosu.

“The minority leadership notes with great consternation and disappointment the press statement by the Majority leadership.

“The minority leadership considers the press statement as an attempt to undermine the authority of the Rt. Hon Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and weaken the institution of parliament,” the minority caucus said in a statement signed by its leader Haruna Iddrisu.

The statement is in response to a statement from the majority side who are of the opinion that the Speaker is attempting to change the rules to protect Mr Sosu from the police.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k8q7Jpn-SuPlr0SAABDQxZz78mGox3UE/preview

The speaker has refused to release Xavier-Owusu to the police for investigation after the MP led his constituents to demonstrate over poor roads in his constituency.

The demonstration turned chaotic when the constituents blocked some roads and destroyed public property.

The police, after several failed attempts to arrest the MP, has obtained a court summons and charged the MP with obstructing the highway and causing damage to public property.

The Speaker in a letter told the Police that to arrest a sitting MP, the appropriate procedure is to secure from the Speaker, a certificate that the MP in question is not attending to Parliamentary business.

He noted that anything short of this will not be entertained by Parliament.

Mr Bagbin stated that the immunities and privileges of MPs are not absolute but the procedure for causing the arrest of a sitting MP must be in accordance with the constitution.

But, in a statement, the majority stated that the failure of the Speaker to release the embattled lawmaker to the police for an investigation like his predecessors did, was troubling.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-4549410436183225&output=html&h=250&slotname=4705176708&adk=1921530005&adf=387235050&pi=t.ma~as.4705176708&w=300&lmt=1636111664&psa=1&format=300×250&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmobile.classfmonline.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2FYou-re-undermining-Speaker-s-authority-Minority-to-Majority-28304&flash=0&wgl=1&dt=1636111663665&bpp=5&bdt=1187&idt=1153&shv=r20211101&mjsv=m202111010101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3D32c534b2313908e2-22a2fd42c3cc000c%3AT%3D1636111556%3ART%3D1636111556%3AS%3DALNI_MZTe0SltXKGLJP2GSjrDS14nUYY1Q&prev_fmts=0x0%2C300x250%2C300x250%2C300x250&nras=1&correlator=6291204084145&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=1618250286.1636111555&ga_sid=1636111664&ga_hid=674280593&ga_fc=1&u_tz=0&u_his=1&u_h=892&u_w=412&u_ah=892&u_aw=412&u_cd=24&u_sd=2.625&adx=56&ady=3451&biw=412&bih=797&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=44753739%2C31062423%2C31062938%2C31060475&oid=2&pvsid=3063445839093416&pem=975&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F&eae=0&fc=1920&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C412%2C0%2C412%2C797%2C655%2C1267&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CEebr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=1024&bc=31&ifi=5&uci=a!5&btvi=3&fsb=1&xpc=goH0CsYIsz&p=https%3A//mobile.classfmonline.com&dtd=1180

The statement said: “The Majority Leadership views the foregoing response by Speaker Bagbin as a troubling departure from how his predecessors handled such requests. To avoid doubt, when both Rt. Hons. Joyce Bamford Addo and Edward Doe Adjaho received those requests during their days in office, they responded by inviting the relevant MPs, held discussions with them, and then asked them to report 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.

“Now, the Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Rt. Hon Bagbin appears to be instituting new rules that seem to undermine the Rule of Law without any prior discussions with the Leadership of the House. We ask: What exactly has changed? As a group, the Majority believes firmly that constitutionally guaranteed immunity for MPs in our democracy must not only be protected always but jealously guarded as well. However, never should we, as a Parliament, make the mistake of allowing immunity to be construed to mean impunity.”

But the Minority, in a statement on Thursday, disagreed with the Majority’s claims.

They insisted that the Speaker was only trying to make the police follow proper procedure in arresting a sitting MP.

“The police attempted to arrest him on Sunday 31st October 2021 while he was worshipping in church. This was in spite of the fact that the police wrote to the Speaker on 27 October 2021 and the Speaker replied and reiterated the fact that there is a procedure that is to be followed with respect to inviting a Member of Parliament to assist in investigations and until that procedure is followed, he as Speaker would not entertain their request. A criminal summons was subsequently issued against the MP with charges to appear before the court on 8th November 2021.

“The Majority Leadership is being mischievous and disingenuous by ignoring the fact that the Police refused to comply with the established protocols of dealing with matters affecting MPs by not, first of all, contacting the Speaker who would have then made the necessary arrangements for them to meet with the affected MP,” the Minority stated.

Meanwhile, the Police administration has filed two charges against Mr Sosu. The charges include obstructing the highway and causing damage to public property.

The lawmaker is expected to answer the charges on November 8 in court