I was absent because of ill health – Kennedy Agyapong tells Privileges Committee
Legislator for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has on Wednesday, 15th June 2022 honoured the invitation of the Privileges Committee over concerns about his unrepentant absenteeism from the House.
He answered questions on why he was absent from the House for more than the stipulated 15 sitting days during the first meeting of the second session of the Eighth Parliament.
This was in line with the Rt. Hon. Speaker, Alban Bagbin’s directive to consider circumstances surrounding the absence of three Members of Parliament, under Article 97 (1c) of the 1992 Constitution.
The legislator revealed to the Committee that his absence was inadvertent, due to ill health.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, instructed the Privileges Committee to engage Sarah Adwoa Safo, Kennedy Agyapong and Henry Quartey over complaints of chronic absenteeism brought against them.
All three are expected to give justifiable reasons for their absenteeism, failure of which, actions will be taken to remove them from Parliament.
Per Article 97(1)(c) of the 1992 Constitution, a Member of Parliament shall vacate his seat “if he is absent, without the permission in writing of the Speaker, and he is unable to offer a reasonable explanation to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges from fifteen sittings of a meeting of Parliament during any period that Parliament has been summoned to meet and continues to meet.”
