Private legal practitioner Mr. Obiri Boahen says the decision by Speaker Alban Bagbin was wrong.
He posited that the Speaker had no authority under law to suspend the Members of Parliament.
Mr. Boahen, who once served as Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), noted that what the Speaker “is a mockery of democracy.”.
He is also questioning how the Speaker managed to suspend three NPP MPs and only one NDC MP.
In his view, this could be an intentional strategy by the Speaker to reduce the numbers of the NPP MPs.
He had therefore commended the minority leader and his colleague MPs for opposing the decision of the Speaker.
“The Speaker was wrong. You have suspended the MPs, and after that, you set a committee to investigate the matter. This is ridiculous and must be entertained. This is unheard of, and the Speaker must take notice of that. The rule of natural justice requires that you give people a fair hearing. You cannot just wake up and suspend the. You don’t do that. That was clearly wrong.
There was a breach of natural justice. What was the criteria for the suspension? This doesn’t make sense,” he said on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5FM.
He told host Kwabe Agyapong that those affected by this decision ought to take immediate action in dealing with the matter.
“What happened is a mockery of democracy. Bringing a speaker does not mean you can suspend them without offering them a proper hearing. I strongly hold the view that the Speaker may have done this intentionally. It is not fair. It is not proper.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana