When Bagbin Was Practising Law, You Were Selling Spare Parts – Murtala To Majority Leader

The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central MP, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has berated the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu for saying that the Speaker of Parliament does not understand the laws of Ghana.

Speaking in an interview with TV3 at Parliament sighted by GhanaWeb, Murtala said that Majority Leader always wants to challenge the Speaker and has been attacking him needlessly.

He added that Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu cannot in anyway compare himself to Speaker Alban Bagbin when it comes to constitutional and legal matters.

“The Majority Leader has a penchant for attacking the person of the Speaker. And he does that all the time. Any opportunity he gets he picks on the Speaker. He did that on the floor, the Speaker didn’t want to sink into the gutters and the Speaker was very diplomatic.

“You listen to him in the press conference and he even said that the Speaker doesn’t even understand the law. When the Speaker was a lawyer practising you, Honourable Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, you were selling spare parts at Magazine, at the time the Speaker was a practising lawyer,” he said.

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, while reacting to the Speaker’s decision to allow the plenary to debate the fate of Dome Kwabenya Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Adwoa Safo and two other legislators over absenteeism, said that Alban Bagbin does not understand the law.

He said that Speaker’s ruling on Adwoa Safo was unfortunate and that he totally disagrees with him.

Alban Bagbin on October 26, 2022, gave a ruling that the report of the committee set up to look into the case of the MP and two others who absented themselves for a number of sittings should be presented before the whole house to be debated.

He, therefore, dismissed the objection of the Majority Leader to the admissibility of the committee report for the consideration of the house.

“As I have noted in this ruling, the decision (sic) on not to admit a motion is the exclusive preserve of the Speaker. In view of the foregoing, the House is well within its right to receive and consider reports of the committee and make a determination arising out of the consideration.

“In the circumstances, it is my ruling that the motion was rightfully admitted and the report of the committee is subject to the consideration of the house. It goes without saying that the (sic) objection of the Majority Leader today (sic) is hereby dismissed…” he concluded his verdict.