The Member of Parliament for Tamale South and Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has asked the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Petroleum Commission, Emeafa Hardcastle, to render an apology and retract comments allegedly directed at the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh.
The acting CEO is alleged to have called the minority chief whip a ‘silly child’ in a video that has since gone viral on social media.
She engaged in a verbal spate after the vetting committee had taken a break during the vetting of the Minister-Designate for Defence, Dr. Edward Boamah.
Hardcastle allegedly made remarks saying, “You are threatening me that you are taking me on because who are you? What do you mean by taking me on? You are a micro-minority. Doesn’t Afenyo-Markin himself use that phrase? I don’t have time for that. You think you can bully me here?”
In response, Annoh-Dompreh threatened to take the CEO on for allegedly calling him a silly child.
The NPP later on the floor of the House prayed the Speaker to deal with the matter, saying the CEO later walked to him to offer a lame apology.
He also informed the House he would take on the matter after the House had formed the Privileges Committee.
Reacting to the matter, the Education Minister asked the CEO to render a public apology and retract her comments.
The former Minority Leader added that having the House discuss the issue before the plenary would send a clear message to the public and non-members of Parliament that the legislature has disciplinary powers under Article 122 of the 1992 Constitution.
“The justified request made by the minority whip regarding conduct infers damaging his reputation as an elected member of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to him, we can only appeal to him that we share what the Hon. MP of Damongo said—that this house must stand united and unanimous in condemning the conduct and demanding an apology for it, but to persuade our colleague not to pursue it further, wanting this matter resolved at the Privileges Committee,” he stated.
Comfort Doyoe, the First Deputy Whip of the majority group and the member of the Women’s Caucus in Parliament, urged the Minority Chief Whip to rescind his request for the Speaker to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee, stating her intention to personally handle the situation.
“Mr Speaker, as a leader of the women’s caucus in this Parliament, I will plead with the Chief Whip to leave the case to me. I am going to meet with the lady in question and advise her on how to handle issues. This is a case between a woman and a man.
“Mr Speaker, the woman has apologised already, so I am pleading with the Chief Whip to leave the matter to the women and me, as the head of the Women’s Caucus, to advise her on how to address issues when she is in our premises and Parliament,” she noted.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
