North Tongu MP, and NDC Minority’s Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto has urged his colleague MP and Deputy Chair of Parliament’s Interior and Defence Committee, Collins Owusu Amankwah to stop embarrasing himself over his (Collins’) threat to haul him before Parliament’s Privileges Committee.
Hon. Owusu Amankwa had publicly indicated he’ll cause Hon. Ablakwa to be summoned before the Committee for going public with content of an “unsubstantiated” Libyan report that alleges some Ghanaians have signed up to terror group, Islamic State (IS).
He told Joy News Hon. Ablakwah’s conduct constituted a contempt of the Parliament especially when the claims had not been substantiated, adding that the manner the Minority Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs handled the matter was as though he was dealing with a “Kejetia-Makola” scuffle.
Mr Ablakwah had led the Minority in a Press Conference to ask government to react to a terrorism report by the Libyan Attorney-General’s Office that claimed some Ghanaians are part of ISIS.
The document reportedly said ISIS leadership uses Ghanaians to conduct kidnapping operations in the Middle East.
“Government must take steps to ascertain to what extent the Ghanaian nationality claims in the report are accurate,” Mr Ablakwah said.
But speaking to Starr FM Monday, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah said the Manhyia North MP is totally ignorant on the subject matter, adding that his colleague must spare himself further embarrasment by being hush on the matter.
“The National Security Minister called the Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Oquaye that they’ll want to have a session with me the Minority Leader and the Leadership of the House. So last Friday the Speaker himself chaired the meeting in his office and we had very good deliberations. Partly it was also an interrogations of the facts we put out and I’ll say it was good meeting. I see governmeent is taking this matter seriously…we’ve agreed to work on a bi-partisan approach behind the scene to ensure that the country is safe and all of us are protected.
” …Let me use this opportunity to ask my colleague Collins Owusu Amankwah who’s been really embarrasing himself all over the place that he’s going to drag me to the Privileges Committee. He clearly does not know what is going on in this matter. He doesn’t know that we had a meeting last Friday chaired by the Speaker himself. If I were in contempt of Parliament and had brought Parliament into disrepute and the Speaker was angry with me, the Speaker would not have hosted me in his office together with the National Security Minister and his team. When it comes to issue of National Security it should not be about partisanship.”
Source: kasapafmonline.com