MP apologizes for accusing Speaker of Parliament falsely

The Member of Parliament for Effiduase Asokore, Frank Boakye Agyen, has rendered an unreserved apology to the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho after accusing the Speaker of ruling on a matter under influence.

As it turned out in the house on Tuesday, Frank Boakye Agyen said his accusation that the Speaker's ruling on January 6 that dismissed a motion for investigations into the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz filed by the minority, was rather actuated by political motives and was not founded on facts. 

In his forthright apology, the MP said he was wrong and consequently withdrew the accusation which he made in a radio interview. Click to listen to the MP's apology and the Speaker's acceptance.

“I Honourable Frank Boakye Agyen, MP, do hereby render an unqualified apology to Rt. Hon. Speaker for the statement made by me when I was interviewed by a Joy FM reporter on the subject matter of the motion for the investigations into the sale of the Merchant Bank Ghana Limited. Among other things I stated that the Rt.Hon. Speaker was influenced by Hon Hanna Tetteh before he gave his ruling on the motion. In fact I had no factual basis making that statement. Those remarks made by me, were actuated by political motives rather than factual information. Accordingly I withdraw every bit of the statement attributed to me and hereby apologise to Rt. Hon. Speaker without any shade of reservation.”

The Speaker, who described his accuser as a man of courage for saying he was sorry, urged that the apology should bring that matter to a close and that the house should continue to work together in the interests of the people of Ghana who gave them the mandate to act in their name. 

“The most important thing is that in all these matters, even under whatever pressure we find ourselves, to make sure that the interest of the Ghanaian people is more important…”

Doe Adjaho also thanked the MP and the house leadership for an amicable solution of the matter that recorded threats of contempt proceedings.