'Hon Member, you'll have difficulty catching my eye again' - Bagbin tells Muntaka

It was a ‘show-down’ between the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, the Minority Chief Whip, when the latter disagreed with his ruling of referring a motion of censure to an ad-hoc committee.

The Minority through leader Haruna Iddrisu, on Thursday, November 10, moved the motion of censure to seek the removal of Ken Ofori-Atta, the Finance Minister over what they described as his state of incompetence in managing the economy.

When the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu moved the motion on the floor of Parliament, the Majority members who are also seeking the removal of the minister through other means, challenged the motion.

Alexander Afenyo-Markin indicated that it will be unfair for the vote of censure to be acted upon without hearing the side of the finance minister.

He indicated that the minister will suffer injustice if the House goes ahead with the application.

“If we go ahead with the application, we will be doing a lot of injustice to our colleague. If this application is allowed it will be injustice and unfairness, the Minister wouldn’t have been given adequate time to prepare for his defence,” Afenyo-Markin stressed.

After the hint that the Speaker was to refer the motion to a committee, Muntaka disagreed and sought to explain why there was no need for a referral to a committee but instead why there was the need to proceed to a vote on the matter citing wording in the relevant rules.

His submission appeared to have veered into an area where the Speaker robustly stepped in, charging the MP of attacking his ruling.

“Mr. Speaker, with all respect and humility to you, in this text, nowhere did it say Mr. Speaker will refer the matter to any ad hoc committee. It says that the House will take a decision and decisions in this House Mr. Speaker is taken by vote.

“So, if any member can move a motion... Mr. Speaker, it is for the decision of this House, that is what Order 106 is saying,” Muntaka stated.

The Speaker of Parliament then responded: "Hon, you are completely, completely out of order. Hon. Member, I don’t take my rulings lightly, please. You are attacking my ruling and I think you don’t have the authority to do so. If you want to attack my ruling, come by a substantive motion.

"Your understanding of ‘during the debate,’…. debate of matters before the House is not only during plenary session. At the committee level, what you do there is to debate. That is why when you agree at the committee level and you come and put the matter here, you don’t waste time to debate again...

"...Hon. Member, resume your seat, resume your seat."

Muntaka then decided to interrupt: "Mr. Speaker, I come to second the motion with the clear indication that any attempt to move this matter to a committee will be a travesty of justice done to the chamber of this House.

Then the Speaker retorted again: "Hon. Members, I direct that all that the Minority Chief Whip has said after I have told him to withdraw and apologize, be expunged from the records. I so direct. Hansard expunge everything from the record.

"Minority Chief Whip, you’ll have a difficulty in catching my eye again," reference to getting to speak again during the session.

PEN/SARA