Sam Payne, NPP Ashanti Regional Secretary
The ruling NPP’s Ashanti regional secretary, Sam Payne, has expressed concerns over the mistreatment of a marshal of parliament by Yapei Kusawgu MP John Jinapor.
“I worry for the parliament marshal who was aggressed unduly by John Jinapor, to the extent that he hurled this marshal to the ground.
"What if his head had hit the ground and he had died, of what use would that rowdiness had been?” he quizzed. He was speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM.
Jinapor has recently apologized for his role in the episode. He said on Joy FM: "Some have maintained that we [NDC] stood our grounds to protect the constitution, some have also insisted that we went too high but if anybody feels unhappy, disturbed by what happened, I apologize to them.”
Footage from the January 7 opening of the 8th parliament showed violent scenes as lawmakers from both sides of the house disagreed over voting procedures – especially on the matter of secret voting.
MPs especially from the NDC side disrupted the voting process a number of times. At a point seizing ballot boxes and kicking voting booths. They also attempted to prevent NPP MPs from displaying their ballots.
Another highlight of the process was the ballot snatching incident that involved Tema West MP, Carlos Ahenkorah.
In the end, a secret ballot process produced Alban Bagbin as speaker, beating the NPP’s preferred candidate, immediate past speaker Mike Oquaye.
