Member of Parliament for Bimbila and Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul has slammed the Minority for boycotting sitting today [Saturday].
According to the Majority Leader, he was not informed today by the Minority why they failed to show up.
The Minority leader last week argued that his side of the house will not be able to attend sitting on Saturdays as working overtime amid the COVID-19 scare can weaken their immune system.
He, however, noted that should the Finance Minister present any emergency budget to fight the pandemic his side of the house will avail themselves.
Speaking on the floor today [Saturday], Dominic Nitiwul described the boycott of the Minority as unpatriotic.
“Mr. Speaker, as a house and as a country, if the absence of my colleagues really comes to pass, that this very important national exercise we do not come and we do not make a single comment on this floor then Mr. Speaker, we as a Parliament are letting the nation down.
“Mr. Speaker everywhere around the world, nations are coming together to fight this Coronavirus. People are putting politics aside. In fact politics can wait. Mr. Speaker, nothing is more important than putting politics aside and fighting Coronavirus which is an invisible enemy. Mr. Speaker for the NDC to boycott Parliament at this time is uncalled for, unpatriotic and a stab on the back of Ghanaians.”
Meanwhile the only Minority member who showed up, MP for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, did not catch the eye of the Speaker when he stood up. He has since left the chamber
Speaker of Parliament rebukes Minority over handling of COVID-19 memo
This development comes days after the Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye rebuked the Minority over its handling of a memo recommending to Parliament the adoption of a bipartisan national response plan to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Although the memo was addressed to the Speaker, Oquaye insisted that, at the time the document was circulating on social media, his office had not been served.
After rebuking the Minority Leader, the statement further insisted that “the issues contained in the said memo are issues that have to be dealt with using due process. The interest of the citizens and the nation should remain paramount”.
But in a response, Haruna Iddrisu insisted that “the said memorandum was delivered on Friday, 20th March 2020 and duly received in the Speaker’s Office. I do not control the administrative arrangements in the Office of the Speaker and cannot, therefore, determine when a document delivered in the Office is brought to the attention of the Speaker.”
