Fuseini Issah, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei North, has slammed Speaker Alban Bagbin for interrupting a Member of Parliament while speaking to them in the house.
The Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin threatened to have dissenting Members of Parliament arrested if they continued to interrupt proceedings. He admonished members not to make light of legislative proceedings in a speech to the House on Wednesday, emphasizing that the House is for serious national business. He also instructed a member of Parliament to'shut up,' which sparked outrage on social media.
Mr. Fuseini Issah, reacting to the Speaker's behavior, recommended Hon. Bagbin to engage in self-introspection because he is solely responsible for how the 8th Parliament is behaving.
"Speaker Bagbin is not the first Speaker of the House of Representatives since 1992. "There have been Speakers upon Speakers," he added, emphasizing that his predecessors (Bagbin) left a good legacy, and that he wants him to do the same.
However, he finds Mr. Bagbin's handling of the House's business unsettling.
"How do we see things today?" Even more than the institution he represents, the Speaker is in the news... Let us question the Speaker how he manages his office as Speaker," he cried.
He continued, "Take a look at how the Speaker enters Parliament. Before he dresses the way he does, who does he consult? Who told him he was going to amend the Parliamentary dress code?"
He chastised the Speaker for silencing an MP, adding, "When someone is speaking on the other side of the chamber and your microphone is turned off, you are free to heckle as long as you use decorous language and do not offend anyone. It's part of the parliamentary [process], but it now appears that the Speaker is also the referee, goalkeeper, striker, midfielder, and defender "..
Fuseini Issah reprimanded Parliament's leadership to address the Speaker's attitude.
"The Speaker's approach should make the leadership of Parliament sit up and take notice. I believe the Speaker is in the headlines far more frequently than the institution he leads. And if Ghana wants to benefit from the eighth Parliament, this type of behavior must be avoided."
