Mr. M. Mumuni's suspension from debating in parliament was lifted yesterday after he withdrew a statement he had made on Tuesday that he had been unable to substantiate at the time. The withdrawal, however, came only after much deliberation.
Mr. Mumuni and most of his party had returned to the Chamber yesterday waving copies of a newspaper article which they claim validates allegations that the NPP is attempting to systematically degrade the strength of the NDC by putting on trial several of its most prominent figures.
The Speaker ordered that Mr. Mumuni still had to withdraw his statement regardless, as it shouldn't have been made to begin with. "It is the dignity of this house which is at the heart of the matter," explained Mr. Adjetey.
After brief consultations between Minority Leader Alban Bagbin and Majority Leader Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Mr. Mumuni agreed to "withdraw the statement as of yesterday."
In return, the Speaker agreed not to pass the matter on to the Privileges Committee, satisfying himself with reprimanding Mr. Mumuni for having caused all the trouble in the first place.
The Chamber, however, calmed down little after the resolution of the impasse as Mumuni continued - citing his role as the ranking member of the committee on parliamentary affairs - to lambaste the NPP for using its position in government to harass officials of the NDC.
He used as examples the detention of E. T. Mensah by the police for three hours longer than the forty-eight constitutionally allowed, and the "invasion" of ex-Vice-President Atta-Mills home by several dozen members of the Security Services.
Needless to say, the NPP vocally disagreed, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Owusu-Agyemang, at one point telling several NDC MPs to "shut up".
The House will continue to debate the President's Sessional Address until Tuesday, when the budget will be announced.
