Fear Grips MPs �Over JB�s Death

Members of Parliament are worried that more assassinations might take place following the demise, of their colleague MP for Abuakwa North, Joseph Boakye Dankwah Adu who was murdered by unknown assailants at his East Legon residence on Tuesday.

Although the police have invaded the area for clues leading to the gruesome murder of the parliamentarian, uneasy calm is pervading parliament as MPs live in fear of the unknown.

According to the Suame MP, it is time for the country to place priority on state protection for Members of Parliament who form one arm of government, as they have been neglected.

He bemoaned the vain excuses that the Parliamentarians are too many to assign security personnel to each member, but convenient to offer protection to the various District Chief Executives (DCEs) who are almost the same number as Parliamentarians.

He alluded that Members of Parliament in terms of order of importance should come before the District Chief Executives (DCEs), so wondering why state security is provided for the DCEs but the same cannot be done for the MPs; adding that almost every district has its own constituency except the cities and the cosmopolitan areas.

“There is nowhere in the world that deputy ministers are more important than MPs but they are given state protection and not MPs . . . but in Ghana if you are an MP there is no respect except you are a minister,” he argued.

“But in order of importance, it is only the President and his Vice President in the Executive arm of government that are above the MPs,” he stressed.

Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu however urged the government to take this issue serious; averring that it shouldn’t take the death of a Member of Parliament at his residence to look at the safety of Parliamentarians.

He however begged the various constituencies to press home the concern to seek the necessary protection for their MPs who are representing their interest.

Member of Parliament for the Abuakwah South Constituency, Mr. Samuel Atta Kyea, in an interview with the Metro TV news lamented that, it is obvious that the security of MPs was not paramount to government.

He said, “Probably this will be a wakeup call to the government to sit up concerning our security; we don’t matter to government at all.”

The MP underscored that all Ministers of State, District Chief Executives, Municipal Chief Executives, among many other state personalities are all provided with state security, except Members of Parliament.

He was of the view that if only the late colleague had any security from the state, he wouldn’t have been attacked in his house in such a strange manner to lose his life.