Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has once again adjourned the house indefinitely on Thursday, November 7, after Members of Parliament (MPs) from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) failed to attend the session.
The absence of the NPP MPs from Parliament came as a setback for the anticipated emergency sitting, which had been convened to address pressing national issues.
Speaker Bagbin expressed disappointment over the situation, highlighting that the absence of the NPP members rendered the session ineffective and forced the indefinite adjournment of Parliament.
“Matters that they wanted us to handle, which I admitted for consideration from the business committee, are not on the Order Paper and in fact, there is no order paper for today because the business committee could not meet due to the absence of the people who requested for the recall.”
“In view of the failure of the business committee to sit, as a result of the refusal of those who requested a recall to show up, we are compelled to once again adjourn the sitting of the house. Knowing the challenges we are facing, it is not advisable to be adjourning from day to day. So, I will proceed once more to adjourn the meeting indefinitely,” he stated.
Following the adjournment, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus, criticised the NPP MPs, accusing them of causing financial loss to the state.
Dr. Forson pointed out that resources were allocated to recall Parliament for the emergency sitting, only for the NPP members to fail to attend.
Dr. Forson urged the NPP MPs to act responsibly, noting that their absence not only disrupted parliamentary proceedings but also undermined the institution’s credibility.
He further called on Parliament to consider measures that would prevent similar occurrences, emphasising the need for accountability and commitment from all MPs in fulfilling their duties to the nation.
Source: Ernest K. Arhinful