NPP MP drags Bagbin's ruling on Adwoa Safo, others to Supreme Court for interpretation

The Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano North on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sulemana Adamu Sanid, has dragged the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to the Supreme Court. The MP is seeking the apex court’s interpretation of the ruling of the Speaker on the matter of absenteeism by his three colleagues. The three MPs are Sarah Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong, and Henry Quartey of the Dome Kwabenya, Assin Central, and Ayawaso Central constituencies, respectively. According to a report by graphic.com.gh, the Ahafo Ano North MP, Sulemana Adamu Sanid, is seeking the Supreme Court’s interpretation on the matter because he disagrees with the verdict of the Speaker of Parliament. The report added that the NPP MP said he wants “the Supreme Court to clarify the operationalisation of Article 97 (1) (c) to be sure if the ruling by the Speaker of Parliament was in consonance with the 1992 Constitution.” Andy Kwame Appiah-Appiah, who is counsel for the MP, said his client believes that a determination has already been made by the Court of Appeal, being the precedence as was in the case of Kwaku Asare [Kwaku Azar] vs. Attorney General. He is said to have said that in such an instance, as has been determined to have been the case of the three absentee MPs, an "automatic vacation of the seat" should apply and that the only job for the Committee of Privileges in Parliament is for the affected MP(s) to explain why they were absent. He added that the only work, in this matter, that the Privileges Committee – which looked into the absenteeism of the MPs -, had to play was to look at the "reasonableness or otherwise of the explanation without more," as mandated by the 1992 constitution. In his ruling on Wednesday, October 26, 2022, Alban Bagbin concluded his 18-page report by stating that parliament should receive the report of the committee and have its contents debated upon. This was however not pleasant news to the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who immediately got up to challenge the Speaker of Parliament, describing his ruling as “unfortunate." Watch the latest episode of People&Places on GhanaWeb TV below: AE/BOG