Annoh-Dompreh did not have my permission to apologise to the speaker - Sefwi-Wiawso MP

The Member of Parliament for Sefwi-Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, has rubbished an apology rendered on his behalf by Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, after the former was sacked from the House by the Speaker, Alban Bagbin, on Monday, July 22, 2024.

Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin deemed a comment passed by the Sefwi-Wiawso MP, which sought to describe a directive given by the Speaker, as prejudicial and disrespectful.

Following the nomination of two justices to the Supreme Court by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Alban Bagbin urged the House to look into the issues of the full complement of the Supreme Court when the Appointments Committee presents its report on the nominees to the plenary for consideration.

However, the MP for Sefwi-Wiawso, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, said it did not lie with the Speaker to make such prejudicial comments.

“I believe that, as a representative of the good people of Sefwi-Wiawso, it does not lie in your mouth to remind us of the things that you said,” the MP said.

Out of fury, the Speaker ordered the Marshal to walk the MP out of the House, describing the MP’s comment as rude and disrespectful.

But the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, rendered an apology to the Speaker on behalf of the caucus after the Sefwi-Wiawso MP had been whisked from the House by the Marshal.

“Speaker, we acknowledge the wisdom you have guided us with and how you have navigated us to this point. We have had moments of tension; we have had some tense moments in the House, and through all that, you have shown leadership, and it is incumbent upon us as leaders to help you right now. What happened a moment ago was unfortunate,” he told the Speaker.

However, reacting to this on Accra-based Citi FM in an interview with Umaru Sanda, the Sefwi-Wiawso MP stated explicitly that he had not done anything wrong to warrant an apology to the Speaker.

He intimated that the Majority Chief Whip did not have his permission to apologise to the Speaker in the first place, and he is placing that on record.

Asked whether he would apologise to the Speaker if impressed upon, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie stated that he would not apologise and that he is not a coward; he speaks his mind, and the same could be verified by former President Kufuor.

“He (Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh) does not have my permission to apologise to the Speaker. And this one you can put on record: I haven’t done anything wrong; why should I apologise?"

"Whatever happens, I will advise myself. I will not be prejudicial in saying some things. That will be very unfortunate on my part, so you let the issue unfold, and then we shall see. So far, I haven’t done anything wrong; I haven’t insulted the Speaker; I haven’t disrespected him; where’s the disrespect?" he said.

"Actually, it was with a lot of humility that I acted, and that was why I told the Marshal to let me bow to the chair. I was raised in the palace. That is all. I have not done anything wrong to apologise for,” he added.