Majority Chief Whip stages walkout of parliament during debate on National Service Authority Bill

During a debate on whether the National Service Bill should be considered under a Certificate of Urgency, significant disagreements arose between the Minority and the Majority parties in parliament.

The Chairman of the Education Committee stated that the committee had agreed the bill should be treated under the Certificate of Urgency, and he moved the motion accordingly.

However, the Minority disagreed, arguing that the bill did not warrant urgent consideration.

Tamale South MP, Haruna Iddrisu, insisted that the Minister of Education needed to provide satisfactory explanations that stakeholders had been adequately engaged, convincing the House to take the bill through the Certificate of Urgency.

Bole Bamboi MP, Yussif Sulemana, argued that the bill did not merit urgent status compared to other important bills such as the Affirmative Bill, which was not being prioritized.

During the debate, two Minority members attempted to gain the Speaker of Parliament's attention but were ignored.

The Speaker proceeded to call for a vote on treating the bill as urgent, despite Tamale Central MP, Murtala Mohammed, asserting that the House did not form a quorum for any government business.

His concerns were dismissed by the 3rd Deputy Speaker, who presided over the session and declared that the ‘Ayes’ had it after the vote.

The Minority rose to their feet to challenge the Speaker’s decision, calling the process illegal and demanding a head count, insisting they were not a rubber stamp for government decisions.

The Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza, pleaded with the speaker to address Yussif Sulemana's concerns.

When Yussif Sulemana was finally allowed to speak, he challenged the ruling that the 'Ayes' had it.

This led to the Majority Chief Whip Frank Annor-Dompreh expressing his frustration, picking up his bag, and walking out of the chamber, amid heated exchanges.

Following the walkout, the Speaker immediately suspended the sitting to meet with the parliamentary leaders.

NAY/AE

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