Member of Parliament for the Bia Constituency on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon Richard Acheampong says the Minority Group in Parliament has no intention to waste time to challenge the Speaker of Parliament, Rt Hon Alban Bagbin on his ruling over the Majority and Minority Side of the House.
According to him, the Minority Group of Parliament had every right to challenge the Speaker of Parliament for ruling that the NPP forms the majority group in Parliament on the account that the independent candidate has written to join the ruling NPP side in Parliament.
Speaking on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Hon Acheampong argued that the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament is alien to the Standing Orders of Parliament and the Constitution of Ghana.
He added that Right Hon. Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin simply introduced a new nomenclature to separate the House which is not based on the Standing Orders known to Parliament and the Constitution.
“We did not want to comment on the ruling of the Speaker of Parliament declaring the NPP side in Parliament as Majority group because the group is not known in our Standing Orders and it is not known by the Constitution. It is just a new nomenclature that the Speaker of Parliament introduced”, he argued.
He stressed that the issue of which side of Parliament forms the majority is part of the outstanding issues being contested in court by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to know if it will tilt towards the NDC or the status quo will remain as it is.
With the issue of even number for both the ruling NPP and the opposition NDC side, Hon. Richard Acheampong described it as unique as it is the first of its kind since 1992 to see an independent candidate becoming relevant in Parliament enough to decide the majority side of the House.
“Since 1992, nobody envisaged that we will have both sides in Parliament with the same number of Parliamentarians and get an independent candidate who will be relevant in Parliament”, he said in an interview on Okay FM’s Ade Akye Abia Morning Show.
“We will take that this is a new normal where we need to adjust ourselves and deal with it because if you come to Parliament, the NPP has 20 women and the NDC also has 20 women. The NPP men in Parliament are 117 and the NDC has 117 men in Parliament; it has never happened before that the NPP will form a government and the NDC will win the Speakership”, he noted.
To him, inasmuch as this new normal in Parliament is confusing to many, it is a learning curve for both the NPP and NDC; thus, both sides of the House must learn a lesson and adjust how they will go about their normal politics as a lot of things will change.
“So, we should take it as it is and after the Speaker has given his ruling, if you disagree with him, you have to move a substantive motion to counter his ruling and if you are not successful, you may have to go to court but I don’t think it is necessary for anyone to waste his time to challenge the ruling in court because the NPP number cannot make any difference”, he stated.
