I have not given Adwoa Safo permission – Alban Bagbin
As lawmaker Sarah Adwoa Sarfo and her colleagues in the Majority group continue to thrash out issues regarding her absence from Parliament, Speaker Alban Bagbin has come out to explicitly clarify that he has not granted permission to the Dome Kwabenya lawmaker to be absent from Parliament contrary to some reports making rounds.
He indicated that the votes and proceedings of the legislative house are clear on whether the embattled MP has permission to be absent from Parliament or not.
The Speaker addressed the issue on the floor of Parliament on Thursday.
“It is being alleged that I granted an interview to say that Adwoa Safo received permission from me to absent herself from Parliament on health grounds. I want it to be known by all that I have not granted any such interview anywhere. I have not said anything like that anywhere. It is not the Speaker who determines who is present and who is absent.”
The legislator for Dome-Kwabenya MP has been under fire and faced backlash from some of her colleagues for absenting herself from Parliament since the current Parliament started sitting.
Her angry colleagues accused her of holding the Majority group to ransom, considering the numbers needed to pass the controversial E-levy bill.
She has also been accused of requesting to be made the Deputy Majority Leader in Parliament, a position she held in the previous Parliament and had decided to stay away from Parliament because her demand had been turned down.
In accordance with stipulations of the constitution and parliamentary procedure, a lawmaker who is absent from Parliament for more than 15 days can be hauled before the Privileges Committee, which can lead to the seat being declared vacant.
