You’re nobody to treat Parliament like you own it – veteran lawmaker fires truant MP
Legislator for Tamale Central, Inusah Fuseini has slammed former Deputy Majority Leader, Adwoa Safo over her long absence from Parliament.
During an interview on Citi FM, he complained that Adwoa Safo disrespected the House by failing to resort to laid down procedures in being absent from the House since December 2021.
The former Ranking Member of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs said Adwoa Safo’s absence would have been legitimate if she had sought permission from both the Speaker and the Majority caucus in Parliament.
“There is no law that prevents the MP from leaving Parliament for more than 15 days to attend to personal issues, except that the MP must have the permission of his or her caucus or the Speaker. Adwoa Safo might have personal issues, but she has to take advantage of the legal regime that allows her to leave Parliament for as long as her issues persist. She cannot be seen to be treating Parliament with impunity,” he noted.
He also wondered why the Privileges Committee has not decided on Adowa Safo’s absence, despite having the powers to do so.
“The constitution does not shy away from giving responsibility to the Privileges Committee to make a decision. The Privileges Committee has been named in the constitution to assess the reasonableness of the explanation of an MP who has absented himself or herself for 15 sitting days.”
It is on record that a recent invitation by the Privileges Committee to Adwoa Safo to understand her absence from Parliament has not been honoured yet.
She recently accused some National Democratic Congress (NDC) members and a number of her colleague NPP MPs of political witch hunting.
