Abu Jinapor expulsion: Speaker was maintaining discipline – Agalga

Majority Leader in Parliament, James Agalga, has defended the Speaker’s decision to have the Member of Parliament (MP) for Damongo, Samuel Abu Jinapor, escorted out of the chamber, saying the action was necessary to maintain order and discipline in the House. He said the Speaker was acting within his authority after the Damongo MP failed to promptly withdraw allegations made against the MP for North Tongu and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, over claims of alleged service passport sales.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, November 3, Mr Agalga said parliamentary rules required members who made allegations they could not substantiate to withdraw them when challenged through the appropriate procedure. He explained that once an objection had been raised and upheld by the Speaker, the member responsible was expected to withdraw the offending remarks rather than engage the Speaker in an argument.

“If you make allegations and cannot substantiate them procedurally, objections will be taken. And when objections are taken and the Speaker finds that the allegations made cannot be substantiated, normally he would order that the one who makes the comments withdraws them,” he said. Mr Agalga said although Mr Abu Jinapor eventually indicated that he had withdrawn the comments, the response came only after the Speaker had directed that he be escorted out.

He maintained that the sequence of events in the chamber, rather than isolated recordings of the incident, should inform public understanding of the Speaker’s decision. “From what I understand, he withdrew the comments,” he said, while acknowledging that the withdrawal came with considerable reluctance. No debate with the Speaker The Majority Leader said the Damongo MP had been given repeated opportunities to withdraw the allegations but instead attempted to engage the Speaker in an exchange, contrary to parliamentary procedure.

He said the Speaker had repeatedly signalled to Mr Abu Jinapor to withdraw the comments, but the MP’s response prolonged the confrontation. “The Speaker kept giving the honourable member a cue. Withdraw, withdraw, withdraw,” Mr Agalga said. He argued that members of Parliament were not permitted under the Standing Orders to debate or engage the Speaker in a verbal exchange while he was exercising his authority to maintain order.

According to him, once the Speaker begins addressing the House, members are expected to resume their seats and comply with his directions rather than challenge him from the floor. “The Standing Orders do not permit members to engage the Speaker in debates,” he said. “You immediately resume your seat. You don’t engage the Speaker in a banter. You cannot debate the Speaker.” Mr Agalga said the Speaker had been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring order and discipline in the chamber and must be allowed to discharge that duty in accordance with the rules of Parliament.

“Remember that he’s the one charged with the responsibility to maintain order and discipline in the House,” he added. Sound bites do not tell the full story Mr Agalga also cautioned against drawing conclusions about the incident from short video and audio clips circulating publicly, arguing that they did not capture the full exchanges that preceded the decision.

He said several developments had taken place before the Speaker ordered the Damongo MP to leave the chamber, adding that the Speaker had made repeated attempts to secure a withdrawal. “For as for the sound bites, if you listen to the sound bites, you may be misled. So many things happened,” he said. His comments followed the parliamentary confrontation over allegations concerning Mr Ablakwa and the alleged sale of Ghanaian service passports, which prompted objections in the chamber and the Speaker’s intervention.

Mr Agalga’s defence centres on the authority of the Speaker under Parliament’s Standing Orders to regulate proceedings and ensure that members conduct themselves in accordance with established parliamentary procedures.