In a scathing critique, Lawyer Martin Kpebu, a renowned private legal practitioner, has strongly criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus in Parliament for their actions and accusations following the Speaker of Parliament’s decision to adjourn proceedings indefinitely.
The outspoken lawyer’s comments come in the wake of accusations by the NPP, notably led by its leader, Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, that Speaker Alban Bagbin had overstepped his bounds and undermined a Supreme Court ruling.
Lawyer Kpebu was forthright in his assessment, branding the accusations from the NPP side as mere “theatrics” aimed at diverting attention from their own shortcomings.
He asserted that the real issue was the NPP’s inability to muster enough members in Parliament to proceed with their legislative agenda, a situation he said exposed deeper cracks within the party’s ranks.
“My understanding of everything that went on yesterday was that the NPP didn’t have the numbers. By some account, they were only 31. Even if you dispute 31, bottom line is that they didn’t have numbers.
“The NDC outnumbered them. So they saw that if they went in, I mean, they wouldn’t succeed. I mean, they wouldn’t be able to get any decision through. So they chose not to go in”.
Lawyer Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner
He emphasized that the NPP’s Caucus accusation against the Speaker is a deflection, adding that the Effutu Member of Parliament, Hon. Afenyo-Markin was trying to deflect the people’s attention from the low numbers they had.
The issue, he highlighted, was not simply about parliamentary procedure but an apparent failure of the NPP leadership to maintain cohesion and secure enough attendance for a successful session.
Lawyer Martin Kpebu dismissed the NPP’s claims that Speaker Bagbin had flouted a Supreme Court order, describing it as baseless and a strategic move to sidestep the focus on their inability to coordinate.
He argued that the Speaker’s actions were within procedural norms, as there was no order paper presented during yesterdays’s sitting, which is a prerequisite for parliamentary business.
“The Speaker sat, and once the NPP Caucus failed to show up, he said there was no business to transact because there was nothing, no other paper. And Parliament uses the order paper to transact business,” Lawyer Kpebu explained.
He questioned whether Hon. Afenyo-Markin had convened a Business Committee meeting to plan for legislative business.“Did he convene a Business Committee meeting? And what happened there? Where is the order paper? There was no order paper,” Lawyer Kpebu said, defending the Speaker’s decision to adjourn the session.
He underscored that Speaker Bagbin was within his rights to adjourn Parliament indefinitely in the absence of a clear legislative agenda.
Lawyer Martin Kpebu further pointed to the underlying fractures within the NPP that led to their failure to present adequate numbers in Parliament.
“The kernel of this matter is that the NPP didn’t have the numbers. So they came to do some theatricals to deflect attention from their failures to marshal their numbers,” he stated.
According to Lawyer Kpebu, these divisions within the NPP Caucus should be the focal point of analysis rather than the diversionary accusations aimed at Speaker Bagbin.
He noted that the incident highlighted the deep-seated issues in the party’s cohesion and organization, which hampered its ability to function effectively in the legislature.
“…you made a very poignant point that there are deep fractures, deep creases within the NPP camp. That’s how come they couldn’t marshal the numbers.
“That’s the main thing we should be looking at rather than deflecting attention and saying Speaker is not obeying Supreme Court decisions. That’s a charade, a charade, and shame of the weakest order,”
Lawyer Martin Kpebu, a private legal practitioner
Lawyer Martin Kpebu’’s scathing critique of the NPP Caucus in Parliament shifts the conversation from allegations of constitutional breaches against the Speaker to the operational inefficiencies and leadership struggles within the ruling party that have now been laid bare.
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