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The Africa Centre for Parliamentary Journalism and Research (CPJR-Africa) has called on Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, the Speaker of Parliament to retract “threats” to revoke accreditation to journalists who abandon proceedings in the chamber to cover press conferences of individual members or caucuses of Parliament.

The Centre said the media had contributed a lot to the success stories of the country’s democratic dispensation and "this is not the time to gag and censor it."

Mr Harrison Kofi Belley, Executive Director of CPJR-Africa, said this in a press release signed and copied to the Ghana News Agency following media reports of the Speaker of Parliament allegedly threatening to revoke the accreditation of journalists who deviated from their core duties of covering proceedings on the floor of the House.

He said the “threat” was “unfortunate and undemocratic,” therefore it was important for the Speaker to withdraw it.

Mr Belley said “giving accreditation to media houses or journalists to cover proceedings of Parliament did not give the Speaker license to instruct them as to what they must cover in Parliament.”

The Executive Director said Parliament was an environment that hosted views, interest and agenda, thus the media as an institution was there to serve the interest of all.

Mr Belley said the presence of the media in Parliament should be seen as satisfying a constitutional mandate on behalf of the people of Ghana and must be regarded as such.