‘Daughter Of Murderer’ Brouhaha: Speaker Bagbin’s 1-Week Ultimatum To MP Absolutely ‘Bogus’ – Yaw Asani Tano
Yaw Asani Tano, a political analyst, has called Rt. Hon. Alban S.K. Bagbin’s bluff over his one-week ultimatum to a parliamentarian who labeled Zanetor Rawlings, MP for Korle Klottey, as a “daughter of a murderer”.
Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has warned the MP responsible for such comment to own up or risk being unmasked.
His admonition follows agitations by the Chiefs and residents of Anlo and Zanetor Rawlings’ loyalists demanding the name of the parliamentarian and punishment accordingly.
“I extend my deepest apologies to Honourable Dr. Zenator Agyeman-Rawlings, Her Excellency Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, the family, the Chiefs, and the people of Anlo and Anloland,” the Speaker said, condemning the remark as “unwarranted, unjustified, and deeply offensive”.
The Speaker urged the “offending MP” to come forward and acknowledge his or her wrongdoing saying “this would show good faith and respect for the dignity of Parliament”.
He gave the offender a week ultimatum to do this, stating “such behaviour is unbefitting of a Member of Parliament and will not be tolerated”.
“The remark was made off-microphone from the Minority side of the House, and it was an act of dishonour”, he added.
But Yaw Asani Tano, in response to the Speaker’s call, says the ultimatum is “bogus”.
“Let’s call a spade a spade…This particular ultimatum of one week is bogus and it will not yield anything.”
Mr. Tano’s confidence that this ultimatum will amount to nothing is premised on the fact that there have been similar incidents in the House under the watch of the same Speaker but he failed to address such actions.
He alluded to the current Majority caucus’, then Minority, description of the former Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, as a “bloody widow”, purportedly to mean she had a hand in the death of her husband.
He asked what happened to those MPs who ostentatiously displayed such tag boldly written on papers and showing it to the cameras during parliamentary proceedings.
It is in view of this and against other “unparliamentary” scenes witnessed in the House that Mr. Asani Tano believes the Speaker current action will end nowhere.
“Are you going to tell me that you will punish this person if he comes out and then, leave those that have happened to go scot free?”, he queried.
Mr. Tano, making these submissions on Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” show, also took a swipe at the parliamentarians asserting that the House is gradually reducing to “a sort of a ground for jokes and disrespect to the house we describe as august…We have started behaving in a manner which is unparliamentary”.
“To see someone shout ‘the daughter of a murderer’ in the middle of proceedings and up to date we don’t know the identity of the person who said that. So, can you describe yourself as august house when indeed sincerity and honesty is not coming from the august house?…We are losing respect for you, guys”, he further remarked.
Source: Ghmessenger.com
