Alban Bagbin expresses disapproval over the conduct of First Deputy Speaker
Speaker resolves not to overturn ruling of Joe Wise
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin has said that he intends to hold a crunch meeting with his deputies, Joseph Osei Owusu (Joe Wise) and Andrew Amoako Asiamah.
The meeting will help iron out pressing issues such as the overruling of his rulings by the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu.
Joe Wise whiles sitting in for Bagbin on Tuesday, February 22, 2022, shot down a Minority motion seeking a bi-partisan probe into government’s COVID-19 expenditure.
He contended that Alban Bagbin should not have admitted the motion in the first place.
The Bekwai MP added that the probe will be done by the Auditor General and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
When Bagbin returned to the seat on February 23, he delivered a formal statement in which he lamented the contentious overruling of his rulings.
“Honourable Member, it is interesting to note that this is the second time the First Deputy Speaker has taken the chair and has made a ruling whose effect was to overrule a position I had earlier on established before the House,” he said.
Alban Bagbin described the conduct of the first deputy as “unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive.”
To this end, he said he will meet with his deputies to formulate a “uniform structure in respect of rulings.
“The penchant of the First Deputy Speaker [Joe Osei Owusu] to overrule my ruling is, to say the least, unconstitutional, illegal, and offensive. Be that as it may, I shall not be taking any steps to overrule the decision of the First Deputy Speaker to dismiss the motion as moved by the Hon. Ranking Member of the Finance Committee. The deputy speakers and I will deliberate on how to present a more coherent and uniform structure in respect of rulings so that the House is guided at all times during deliberations.”
Alban Bagbin (left) and Joseph Osei Owusu (right)