NPP minority could face Privileges Committee

…for boycotting State of the Nation address

For the first time in the nation’s parliamentary history, Ghanaians are likely to witness a whole minority group in Parliament appear before the Privileges Committee, credible reports reaching the Al-Hajj has revealed.

Information picked by The Al-Hajj indicates that the Speaker of Parliament; Right Hon Edward Doe Adjaho has been petitioned by a member of the majority (name currently withheld), to haul minority members of the House before the Privileges Committee of Parliament over their distasteful conduct during President John Mahama’s visit to the House to deliver the State of the nation address last week.

A source at the law-making House has hinted this paper that, a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP), outraged by the decision of the minority to boycott Parliament and engage in acts that sought to denigrate and bring the august House of Parliament into serious disrepute and also, having showed great disrespect to the President, filed a complaint with the Speaker against all the NPP Members of Parliament present on that day.

However, our investigation shows it appears the Speaker; Right Hon Edward Doe Adjaho, together with leadership of both sides of the House, has adopted a lacklustre attitude towards the complaint filed against minority Members of Parliament to be hauled before the Privileges Committee of Parliament.

“The leadership seems to be dragging its feet on complaint filed by the NDC MP which seeks to drag the NPP MPs before the Privileges Committee to answer for the behavior they put up on the day the President presented the State of the Nation Address," the source who wants to remain anonymous told the Al-Hajj.

The complaint, this paper found out, was filed by the unnamed MP immediately after the shameful act by the minority last week.

The Al-Hajj’s further probing of the matter has revealed that some MPs of the House, outside the leadership are currently meeting on their next line of action if no favourable response comes from the Speaker by the close of day, Wednesday.

Minutes before President Mahama entered Parliament to present his state of the nation address last Thursday, the NPP minority members walked out, to the surprise of many, including chiefs, diplomats and foreign observers.

The leadership of the NPP is challenging the declaration of the results, which led to the swearing-in of John Mahama as President at the Supreme Court.

In a related development, the NDC National Organizer, Yaw Boateng Gyan, has forewarned all newly appointed ministers to shy away from answering questions posed by NPP MPs to the Speaker of Parliament over issues they are not abreast with; else suffer the harsh repercussions to be packaged by the national executives for them.

According to Yaw Boateng Gyan who spoke on Okay FM yesterday, so far as the NPP as a party and its MPs have decided to boycott every national event under President Mahama's administration, the NDC would also not allow newly appointed ministers to feed them with the vital information they would need to enhance their work.