The Speaker of Parliament has taken a swipe at the First Deputy Speaker, HON. Joseph Osei Owusu, describing his actions on November 30, 20221, as a misconduct, tantamount to insubordination.
It is recalled that while absent on a medical trip, the FIRST Deputy Speaker superintended over a Majority-only parliament that quashed events of November 26, 2021, which had seen the rejection of the 2022 budget.
The development had since stoked embers of controversies between the Majority and Minority, leading to a stalemate in the budget approval processes.
The Minority had vowed to take up the issues with Right HON. Alban Bagbin on his return, after their motion to get the first deputy speaker to rescind the decision of November 30, 2021 fell through.
The Minority had contended that the First Deputy Speaker could not be countered as part of the Majority Member of parliament, while acting as Speaker of the House.
The Majority which needed the First Deputy Speaker’s inclusion to meet the 138 minimum requirement to approve the budget, disagreed with the position of the Minority.
But reacting to these developments on his return on December 15, 2021, the Speaker of Parliament could not take kindly to the conduct of his deputy, HON. Joseph Osei Owusu, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for the Bekwai constituency in the Ashanti region.
Right. HON. Alban Bagbin, clarified that once the Speaker had given notice of his unavoidable absence from parliament, the first deputy speaker, essentially assumes the role of the Speaker, a situation that in variably should proscribe him from being countered as member of any side of parliament.
