Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has stated that Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, should not act as a monarch on the floor when motions are being debated.
The North Tongu MP indicated that Mr. Oquaye is deliberately gagging some members on the minority side to prevent them from contributing to a migration issue involving some 29 Ghanaians in Spain.
This follows a ruling by the Speaker preventing Mr. Okudzeto from speaking on a statement by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr. Mohammad Habibu Tijani, on the floor in relation to some 29 Ghanaian migrants in Spain who are stranded and seeking asylum.
In an interview with ghanajustice.com, Mr. Okudzeto explained that it is wrong for the speaker to say he cannot engage the media on his fact-finding mission to Valencia on the 29 Ghanaian nationals who were denied refugee status by the Spanish government.
Related: Speaker chides Ablakwa over media engagement on 29 ghanaian migrant in spain
“Is it wrong for me to engage the media upon my mission to Valencia on the 29 Ghanaian migrants? The Speaker was not able to state anywhere in the Standing Orders and the Constitution that one cannot engage the media when making a statement on the floor. What Mike Oquaye demonstrated is alien to our rules. It is not stipulated anywhere in the standing orders”, he lamented.
He further pointed out that the Speaker’s attitude is characterised by partisan politics and such conduct must be condemned.
Expressing his disappointment, Mr. Okudzeto again indicated that the speaker rejected his statement on migration issues and allowed the Deputy Minister to attack him in a counter-statement presented to the house for political capital.
Mr. Okudzeto revealed that hundreds of Ghanaian nationals have died as a result of illegal migration to other countries and such situation calls for serious concern.
He again added that the migration crisis has drawn the attention of the European Union to have a mini summit at the headquarters in Brussels to solve the issue of illegal migration.Photo Credit:
Source: GhanaJustice/S.Ayisi
