Tag: lawmakers

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Lagos Lawmakers weep as Meranda steps down for Obasa

Lawmakers and staff of the Lagos State House of Assembly wept in the full glare of those present on Monday when the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, tendered her resignation letter to allow the previously impeached speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, to return to his position.

LEADERSHIP reports that the House had been engulfed in crisis since January 13 when Hon Mudashiru Obasa was removed as Speaker.

Most of the lawmakers and Assembly staff who spoke without inhibition applauded Meranda over how she led the House within the 49 days she was the speaker of the House, saying reversing the situation was a return to a reign of tyranny in the Assembly.

Before her resignation, Meranda who was the first female speaker of the state, and Obasa had earlier held a meeting with lawmakers, with Lawal Pedro, the Lagos State attorney general, and Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, in their midst.

Meranda was reappointed as the Deputy Speaker, while Mudashiru Obasa took the oath of Office as the Speaker. Also, Hon Sanni Okanlawon resigned as the Deputy Chief Whip, while Hon Setonji David resigned as the Chief Whip.

In the meantime, Hon. David was reelected as the Deputy Chief after being nominated by Hon. Kehinde Joseph. Hon. Richard Kasunmu returned as the Deputy Majority Leader, while Hon. Adewale Temitope retained the position.

Similarly, Deputy Speaker Mojeed Fatai resigned and was elected as the Chief Whip. Meranda returned as the new deputy speaker.

With this development, Meranda served as the Speaker for 49 days before bowing to the All Progressives Congress (APC) party supremacy principle.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the development was decided at the strategic meeting of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) with members of the House on Sunday. (Leadership)

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Four lawmakers suspended after fight erupts in Ghana’s Parliament

The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has suspended four lawmakers for two weeks following a violent altercation during a ministerial screening session on Thursday.

The suspended lawmakers, Rockson Dafeamakpor, Frank Annor-Dompreh, Alhassan Tampuuli, and Jerry Shai, were on Friday penalised for what Bagbin described as a “gross affront to the dignity of parliament and a blatant contempt of the House”.

It was gathered that the speaker also announced a two-week suspension of four lawmakers for “contemptus parlamenti in facie parlamenti”.

The clash occurred during the vetting of ministerial nominees from the ruling National Democratic Congress.

Lawmakers from the opposition New Patriotic Party accused the vetting committee of rushing the process, while NDC members alleged that the opposition was deliberately stalling proceedings with prolonged questioning.

Tensions reached a breaking point when NPP’s leader in parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, questioned Samuel George, the nominee for communications minister, for over five hours.

The prolonged interrogation led to frustration among committee members, triggering the brawl.

Furniture was overturned, microphones were destroyed, and lawmakers exchanged blows.

A special seven-member committee has been tasked with investigating the incident and is expected to submit its report within 10 days.

Additionally, the cost of repairs for damaged parliamentary property will be deducted from the allowances of those found responsible.

This marks the third time in four years that Ghana’s lawmakers have resorted to physical confrontations during legislative proceedings.

Similar incidents occurred in 2021 during the election of a new speaker and later that year during debates on the electronic transaction levy bill. (Punch)