Enskinment of Talensi MP stokes fire in Parliament; But says he is yet to be gazetted
Members of Parliament (MPs) have expressed mixed feelings over the reported enskinment of Mr Robert Nachinab Doameng Mosore, the MP for Talensi, as the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area.
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The Majority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, who raised the issue in Parliament yesterday, drew the attention of the House to the enskinment of Mr Mosore as the Paramount Chief of Talensi in the Upper East Region to replace the late Tongo-Raana Sapaalug-Namalteng Boara Yenga Kolbil.
Alhaji Muntaka referred to articles 276 and 277 of the 1992 Constitution and urged members to take note of the MP’s action which contravened the Constitution.
But Mr Mosore says enskinment does not make one a chief.
He told the Daily Graphic that for one to be duly considered or recognised as a chief, he must be gazetted or his name published in the chieftaincy bulletin.
“I have not been gazetted, neither have the other processes that would make me a chief been concluded. I am still going through the traditional rites and when that is done, the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and later the National House of Chiefs would be notified. It is after these processes that I would be gazetted.The processes would end in about one month,” he said.
He said until he is gazetted, he could go to Parliament, occupy his seat and participate in debates.
“But I do not intend to do so,” he quickly added.
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He said he had sent a letter to the Speaker, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, informing him of the commencement of the processes to make him a chief, adding that the letter was likely to reach Mr Adjaho by Thursday.
Article 276 (1) states: “A chief shall not take part in active party politics, and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin.”
Article 277 says: “In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, ‘chief’ means a person who, hailing from the appropriate family and lineage, has been validly nominated, elected or selected and enstooled, enskined or installed as a chief or queenmother in accordance with the relevant customary law and usage.”
Mixed reactions
While some members of the Majority wanted the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Ebo Barton-Odro, to rule on the status of the member, some members of the Minority said they were not aware of the status of the member and that they only read or heard about it in the newspapers or on radio.
Some other Minority members were also of the view that the member was yet to be gazetted as a chief and that Parliament had not received any communication from the member or from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Mr Igantius Baffour Awuah, the NPP MP for Sunyani West, was of the view that Alhaji Muntaka should not have raised the issue in the House, since no one had officially informed the House about the status of the member.
He described the assertion as hearsay and not a fact.
Alhaji Inusah Abdulai B. Fuseini, the NDC MP for Tamale Central and Minister of Roads and Highways, said the Talensi MP should have resigned as a matter of principle and called on the House to take steps to address the issue.
For his part, the NPP MP for Sekondi, Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, argued that the Speaker should not make any ruling on the issue.
The NDC MP for Tamale South and Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, who made reference to Article 94 (3), said MPs swore oaths to defend the Constitution and called on the leadership of the House to investigate the status of the Talensi MP.
Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, the NPP MP for Old Tafo, said members should not worry over the matter, since the MP in question was not present in the House.
In his remarks, Mr Barton-Odro, referred members to Standing Order 16 (1) which states: “A member shall not absent himself during a meeting for more than fifteen sittings without the permission in writing of the Speaker. Any member infringing this order shall have his conduct referred to the Privileges Committee.”
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