Speaker running Parliament like he’s chairing NPP Disciplinary Committee – Ahi

NDC Member of Parliament for Bodi, Sampson Ahi has said the Minority in Parliament will resist any attempt by Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye’s to throw his weight about and remote-control Parliament thinking he’s dealing with some small boys.

According to him, Rt. Hon. Prof Oquaye is yet to wake up to the reality that Parliament is not an extension of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Disciplinary Committee which he chaired before his appointment and as such he cannot ‘punish’ MPs like some erring NPP members.

The conduct of the Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has come under severe criticism, with the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs threatening to initiate impeachment process against him.

In their view, the Speaker has since the inception of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic, been bias against them, cataloging a number of critical moments where the Rt. Hon. Prof. Oquaye has denied them to either voice out their displeasure or question ministers of state that appear before the legislature to answer to issues relating to their ministry.

The NDC MPs on Tuesday August 1, 2017, walked out of Parliament in protest over unfair treatment meted to them by the Speaker, over the controversial Ameri deal.

The move by the Minority NDC MPs followed series of protests against the conduct of the Speaker over the last couple of days.

But speaking to Kasapa News, Hon. Sampson Ahi stated the Speaker is very soaked in NPP politics has amply demonstrated that he’s not ready to work for Ghana.

“Prof Mike Oquaye thinks he’s still doing his NPP Disciplinary Committee work in Parliament, we’ll not allow him to go the way he’s going. When you’re Speaker of Parliament you don’t own Parliament, he’s not the one who brought any of us to Parliament. As a Speaker he’s supposed to go by the Constitution and Parliament’s Standing Orders and no other considerations.

“We understand that when last week’s issue happend, the Council of State invited him together with the Majority and Minority Leaders and were spoken to, but he hasn’t changed. We’ve realized that even if you invite the Pope to come and advise the Speaker he’ll not listen to him and will continue to do his NPP politics, but we’ve also fully prepared for him and we’ll match him boot for boot. He doesn’t have Parliament in his pocket, if he’s not ready to work with us, we’re also not ready to work with him.”