Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has reiterated that an embattled Member of Parliament, James Gyakye Quayson of Assin North remains a lawmaker despite a court order barring him from holding himself out as such.
Bagbin while commenting on the status of the MP on Friday, October 28, cited the lack of communication on the part of the Judiciary for his view on the matter.
He said everything he knows of the Gyakye Quayson matter is from what he reads in the media and what he hears from third parties despite the fact that as leader of the legislature, he must be formally communicated to on the court’s decision to bar an MP from serving their term.
“As of now, I still don’t have any evidence of that and so we should let sleeping dogs lie until the proper thing is done. The issues that were raised by the Hon. Ablakwa is on page 8 under item 3, you have the name number 45 which deals with the Hon. Member for Assin North.
“Because his matter has been pending and I don’t have any evidence on it. I have been reading in papers, I have been hearing from people but we don’t have any communication from our colleague from the arm of government in charge of the judiciary on the matter,” he told MPs.
He added that he cannot take what he reads in the papers as sufficient evidence to act on, “so, I have raised this issue before expecting that there would be a communication to us on that issue and nothing has come so far and that is the difficulty I have.”
Apex Court bars Assin North MP from Parliament
A seven-member Supreme Court panel, months back ruled that the MP cannot hold himself out as a legislator pending the determination of the case challenging his eligibility.
The court by a 5-2 majority decision, said Quayson, who has been sued by one Michael Ninfa, for not renouncing his Canadian citizenship at the time he picked nomination forms to contest December 7, 2020, Parliamentary Election, cannot go to Parliament to conduct business.
The presiding judge, Justice Jones Dotse joined four members of the bench- Justices Mariama Owusu, Prof Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu, Gertrude Torkonoo and Emmanuel Yoni Kulendi, to uphold the interlocutory injunction application filed against the MP. The two judges who dissented were Justices Agness Dordzie and NeneAmegatcher.
On the substantive suit, the Apex Court directed an expeditious hearing and urged the parties and their counsel to cooperate with the court in that regard.
Alban Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament