I have not apologised - Sissala East MP defends comments on 'unfair' removal of Haruna Iddrisu

The office of the Member of Parliament for Sissala East, Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, has reiterated his stance on the matter of the removal of the immediate-past Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, from a number of committees in parliament.

Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu, the Research Assistant to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP, told GhanaWeb in an email, that it is false that his boss has apologized for his statement above.

Earlier, GhanaWeb reported that Amidu Chinnia led some MPs to indicate that it was unfair how the former Minority Leader was being treated.

They pointed at two major issues to buttress their concerns, the first being his removal from seven committees of the House by virtue of having lost his leadership position.

“Haruna Iddrisu as Minority Leader, by virtue of his removal, he has been removed from several committees of which he was serving on. Appointments, Business, Inter Parliamentary Union, Standing Orders Committees among others,” the group spokesman lamented.

He added that the issue of attempts to remove him from his office amounted to “a case of humiliation to the MPs and their constituents,” referring to Haruna and his Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka.

The MP also slammed the National Democratic Congress, accusing the party of betraying two major voter blocs of the party, the northern regions and the Zongos (Muslim dominated areas), by virtue of removing Haruna and Muntaka.

“The five northern regions at least should have been represented, the Zongo communities in Ghana which contributes significantly to the votes of the NDC should have been represented. These changes took away Haruna Iddrisu from the North, it took away Muntaka, a Zongo man.

“Zongo representation and northern leadership has been taken away and which is a complete disrespect,” he stressed.

However, in an update from GhanaWeb's parliamentary correspondent, Nimatu Yakubu Atouyese, she said that the new Minority Chief Whip, Kwame Governs Agbodza, said on Friday, February 10, 2023, that the Sissala East MP apologized for his comments, regretting that his statements were mere political talk.

But in a response to this claim, the Research Assistant to the Sissala East MP, Fuseini Abdul-Fatawu, stressed that no such apology has been made by his boss.

“The attention of Hon. Amidu Chinnia Issahaku, MP for the Sissala East constituency and Deputy Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, have been drawn to the fact that an apology is attributed to him in the above story.

“The honourable MP of the Sissala East constituency wish to state that he hasn't issued any apology to any Minority MP or their leadership.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Hon. Amidu Chinnia Issahaku and the NPP MPs from the Northern Regions and Zongo communities wish to re-emphasize that the treatment given to Hon. Haruna Iddrisu was unfair, unjust and undemocratic. Thank you,” he stated.

Haruna Iddrisu has been at the center of a lot of parliamentary discussions in the last week after he was ousted as the Minority Leader, a change that has brought to question a number of major re-adjustments in the House.

You can also watch this episode of People & Places:



AE/OGB