Speaker Bagbin has taken Parliament as his personal property - Afenyo-Markin

Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin ha slammed Speaker Alban Bagbin's decision to keep the House closed. Afenyo-Markin's criticism stems from Bagbin's apparent arbitrary control over Parliament's schedule, deciding when to reconvene the House for government business.

This move has sparked concerns about the implications for government operations and the legislative process. The Majority Leader's frustration is palpable, as he accuses Bagbin of treating Parliament as his personal fiefdom. 

"Look at the shutdown they are doing in Parliament. Today, the Speaker has taken Parliament as his personal property. As and when it pleases him, he opens Parliament. Even when there is an issue that he could sit with us on, he says no," Afenyo-Markin stated in an interview with JoyNews.

“Look at the recent case, they themselves created this impasse. We [NPP], as law-abiding citizens, took the matter to court. The court ruled in our favour. 

“They contested the case and lost. I was expecting Mr Speaker to immediately open Parliament as a Democrat, to say that government business must go on. I waited upon him, he did not. When I finally wrote to him to open Parliament for us to do government business, look at his response. He's not ready,” he said.

“Look at the response of the NDC. They wrote a counter-petition saying that Mr Speaker should not open Parliament. The flagbearer of the NDC also said the same thing. So what are they doing is to hold government hostage,” he asserted.

“Are we even sure that he would open Parliament? That's the question. Are we even sure? But the answer lies in we [NPP] winning massively. And once we win massively and we come, he would have no choice. 

“I do not want to rely on his words. You remember we recall Parliament, the government did all that they had to do, we came in and he adjourned Parliament sine die. So I don't want to talk about whether he would come and reopen Parliament or not. I leave it to his own judgment,” he added.

Source: Lead News Online