Joseph Osei-Owusu, the former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and former Chairman of the Appointments Committee, has raised concerns about the legal basis Speaker Alban Bagbin relied upon when issuing judgments and suspending members of Parliament without following due process.
Osei-Owusu argued that Speaker Bagbin did not adhere to the statutory procedures before enforcing the various disciplinary measures. In an interview with Channel One TV, Osei-Owusu emphasized that the Privileges Committee should have conducted investigations and provided members found culpable with the opportunity for a fair hearing before any disciplinary action was taken.
He further criticized Speaker Bagbin for rushing to make decisions that, according to him, were premature and not in accordance with parliamentary rules.
“I think he rushed into making a decision or announcing a decision which he has no power to do. The committee should be set up for all those matters to be investigated and a proper recommendation made to the House so I wonder the legal basis for pronouncing a punishment when the procedure had not been followed,” he stated.
The Speaker of Parliament suspended Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Minority Chief Whip and Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, along with Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli and Jerry Ahmed Shaib, from parliamentary sittings for two weeks, effective Friday, January 31.
Their suspension follows violent confrontations that erupted at the Appointments Committee on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
Tensions flared between members of the Minority and Majority caucuses over the vetting of Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The Minority argued that the vetting should be rescheduled for Friday, while the Majority insisted it proceed as planned on the same day.
The disagreement escalated, leading to chaotic scenes in which Minority members took extreme actions, including breaking tables and microphones, in an attempt to halt the vetting process.
Bagbin suspends Annoh-Dompreh, Dafeamekpor, two others over vetting chaos
