Samuel Atta Akyea, the member of parliament for Abuakwa South, stated that he thought the petition on four parliamentary seats, filed by the former minority leader Haruna Iddrisu, was just a political talk.
He claims that this is the case because the remark was made on a political forum.
During an interview with Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem morning show, Mr. Atta Akyea stated that the Tamale South MP was overcome by the excitement surrounding the political campaign.
“I thought it was a joke. I thought it was just a political talk because of the euphoria at where he made the statement. I didn’t think this venal statement would graduate into this controversy,” he stated.
Background:
Four Members of Parliament were to have their seats declared empty in the next election due to their decision to cross carpets.
The MP for Tamale South cited Article 97 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which states that a member of parliament must resign from office if they choose to run for office as an independent or leave the political party for which they were elected.
On Thursday, Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, made a decision about the petition and declared the seats vacant.
Following the announcement, the NDC was declared the majority and the NPP the minority, with 136 and 135 seats, respectively.
The Speaker’s statement was, nevertheless, put on hold by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Chief Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo led a five-member bench that ruled on Friday, finding that the declaration violates the rights of the affected MPs’ constituents.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs, led by Majority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, filed an ex parte application after that.
The seats that were vacant have been filled by this decision.
The NDC threatened not to follow the Apex court’s ruling, claiming it was now the Majority caucus, which has provoked a variety of responses.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Joseph Asare
