‘I’ve Not Given Adwoa Safo Permission To Be Absent From Parliament’ – Bagbin

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Bagbin has denied reports that he gave permission to the Dome Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, to absent herself from the House, on health grounds. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, he stated that such reports are false and urged the public to dismiss them.

According to him, Parliament has its own mechanisms to determine whether an MP is present or absent; which doesn’t fall under his jurisdiction. He, therefore, indicated his readiness to address the issue of MPs absenteeism in subsequent sittings. “It’s important I diffuse some

fake news, which is being circulated that I granted an interview to say that Adwoa Safo received permission from me to absent herself from Parliament on health grounds. I want it to be known by all; that I have not granted any such interview anywhere. I’ve not said anything like that anywhere.

“And the votes and proceedings of the House are so loud that if she’s absent without permission for all those days, that’s on the votes and proceedings of the House. “It’s not the Speaker who determines who’s present and who’s absent. No. The votes and proceedings will capture those who’re present,

those who’re absent and those who’re absent with permission. And so please; I’ve received a lot of calls from a number of media men on that issue. “And that’s why I don’t want to delay in letting the world know that I have not said any such thing anywhere. Please. And tomorrow, I’m going to

address the issue of absentee MPs very very clearly for everybody to understand”, Alban Bagbin emphasised. The clarification by the Speaker was in connection with a series of developments, surrounding the Dome Kwabenya MP, who was last seen in Parliament on December 1, 2021. Since

then, some of her colleague MPs have accused her of deliberately absenting herself to sabotage the Majority in Parliament. According to them, Adwoa Safo is making some outrageous demands from government before she appears in Parliament to support the conduct of government business.