On Monday, July 22, 2024, Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin attacked Sefwi Wiawso MP Kwaku Afriyie for questioning his authority.
Announcing the President’s nomination of two new Supreme Court judges, the Speaker noted that the House of Representatives should consider a bill to limit the maximum number of judges appointed to the Supreme Court.
However, the Sefwi Wiawso MP disagreed with the Speaker’s remarks, citing his role as a representative of the people of the constituency as the reason for the protest.
“Mr Speaker, with all due respect to you, Mr Speaker, I find this opening statement of yours to be biased, and it is not your position to remind us as a representative of the good people of Sefwi Wiawso. Thank you,” he said.
However, the speaker did not like the MP’s remarks and found them disrespectful.
In response, Speaker Bagbin emphasised that he was superior to the MP and ordered his immediate removal from the chamber:
“That is an entirely disrespectful comment. You may throw him out of the house right now. I am empowered to do this. They represent the good people of Sefwi Wiawso. I represent the entire country. Please, Marshal, throw him out of the house.” “I will not tolerate such disrespect,” he ordered.
Group leader Frank Annoh-Dompreh apologized to Bagbin on behalf of his colleagues and the group on behalf of the speakers.
“Mr Speaker, we appreciate the wisdom you have guided us with and the way you have led us to this point. We have had some tense moments. We have had some tense moments in Parliament and through all of them, you have shown leadership. It is our duty as leaders now to help you. What happened earlier was unfortunate,” he told the spokesman.
But in an interview on Monday night, Kwaku Afriye insisted that his opposition was in no way unfounded and retracted the apology issued on his behalf.
“He (Frank Annoh Dompre) does not have permission to apologise to the Speaker and I can put this on record: ‘I have done nothing wrong so why should I apologise?'”
“I will be available for consultation no matter what. “I will not say anything biased. It would be very unfortunate for me, so let’s wait and see how the matter develops. So far, I have done nothing wrong. I have not insulted the speaker. I have not shown any disrespect for him. Where is the disrespect? “he said in an interview on City FM. “The truth is, I have behaved with great humility, which is why I told the marshal to let me bow to the chair. I grew up in the palace. “That’s it. I haven’t done anything wrong that I need to apologize for,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Breaking:
Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin walks out MP for Sefwi Wiawso Hon. Kwaku Afriyie over ‘rude remarks’. pic.twitter.com/griM4nyU51
— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) July 22, 2024
