The Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah, says despite the former Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho, gone on retirement, his (Adjaho’s) presence could still be felt in the House.
Hon. Adjaho, the Majority Leader alleges, is “still trying to control Parliament” using the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) as conduit.
“I will tell you, the man [Hon. Doe Adjaho] is behind the scenes. He still wants to control Parliament. Do you know what happened yesterday? Yesterday, he even called them [NDC MPs] when we were meeting the Electoral Commissioner [Charlotte Osei] and told them they should not agree for us in the Committee of the Whole for you the press to be present. That man [Adjaho] thinks he is still in control,” he alleged.
Mr. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made this allegation on Thursday, July 27, 2017, when reacting to concerns raised by the Minority NDC MPs over the conduct of the Speaker.
The NDC MPs had threatened to impeach the Speaker if he does not change his attitude towards them when presiding over the business of the House.
One of the numerous available options to them, the group noted, was to trigger an impeachment process against the Speaker.
In the view of the NDC MPs, the Speaker has since the inception of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic, been bias against them, cataloging a number of critical moments where the Rt. Hon. Prof. Oquaye has denied them to either voice out their displeasure or question ministers of state that appear before the legislature to answer to issues relating to their ministry.
But the Majority Leader responding to the concerns of the Minority said, their actions were uncalled for.
He said if they (NDC MPs) had any concern with regards to the conduct of the Speaker, they should come with a substantive motion, referencing Order 93(5) of the Standing Orders of Parliament to buttress his point.
Order 93(5) of the Standing Orders of the House states that “The conduct of Mr. Speaker, Members, the Chief Justice and Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature shall not be raised, except upon a substantive motion, and in any amendment, Question to a Member or remarks in a debate on a motion dealing with any other subject, any reference to the conduct of the person mentioned shall be out of order.”
