The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Vincent Ekow Assafuah, Esq., has described Speaker Bagbin’s decision to suspend four Members of Parliament as a dangerous precedent.

In an interview on Kumasi-based Pure FM with Kwame Adinkrah on Monday, February 3, 2024, Assafuah criticized the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, for treating Parliament as though it were a headmaster-student relationship.

He accused the Speaker of using subservient laws to override constitutional provisions, which he deemed unacceptable.

"Kwame, in Ghana, we practice constitutional supremacy, not Speakership supremacy. The Speaker’s suspension of four MPs sets a dangerous precedent and is alien to parliamentary processes. Order 130 of the new standing orders grants the House and not the Speaker with the power to pronounce suspensions.

"The Speaker has no authority to suspend a Member of Parliament. He is using subservient laws to overturn constitutional provisions, and he must be called out," he stated.

Background

On January 31, 2025, Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin suspended four Members of Parliament (MPs) from parliamentary sittings for two weeks following their alleged involvement in an altercation that resulted in damage to parliamentary property.

The affected MPs are:

Majority Chief Whip and MP for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamakpor

Minority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, Frank Annor-Dompreh

MP for Gushiegu, Alhassan Sulemana Tampuuli

MP for Weija-Gbawe, Jerry Ahmed Shaib

According to the Speaker, the conduct of the four MPs had seriously undermined the credibility of Parliament, necessitating urgent punitive action.

Meanwhile, watch as chaos erupts at Parliament over vetting of Okudzeto Ablakwa and Mintah Akandoh