I regret asking Asiedu Nketia to leave parliament – Yendi MP
Farouk Aliu Mahama, the Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency
Majority demands removal of Asiedu Nketia from parliament
Read full article Majority stages walkout over Asiedu Nketia’s presence in parliament
Asiedu Nketia justifies decision to sit in parliament during budget debate
Farouk Aliu Mahama, the Member of Parliament for Yendi Constituency, has said that with the benefit of hindsight, he should not have joined the chorus for the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress to exit parliament during debate on the 2022 budget on Friday, November 26, 2021.
Farouk Mahama told JoyNews on Thursday that he was unhappy with the manner in which the Speaker of Parliament ordered the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, to exit the house and he felt same should have been done to Asiedu Nketia.
“Ken Ofori-Atta came to Parliament trying to appeal for an opportunity for them to engage both parties and the manner in which he was walked was not good. Somebody who is a very respected Finance Minister and it angers some of the MPs.”
He however regrets the action and said that when presented with such incidents again, he would approach it differently.
“It angered me too because a very hardworking Finance Minister would be embarrassed in such manner. With the sighting of the General Secretary of the NDC, we also thought that it was improper for him to be there. So we took the decision to have him leave. It’s a regrettable situation and I regret my actions,” he said.
It will be recalled that the Majority caucus in parliament staged a walkout after their request for Asiedu Nketia who was sitting in the Public Gallery to leave parliament was rejected by Speaker Bagbin.
Their walkout allowed the minority to reject the budget following a voice vote in parliament.
Commenting on the issue later, Asiedu Nketia justified his decision not to leave the gallery.
“I came to sit in the public gallery. I wasn’t speaking to anybody. I was just sitting down observing things. So how do you see me and just say ‘Asiedu Nketia is in the Chamber, so must leave’ when other members of the public gallery were still in the gallery?” he told JoyNews.
