The Executive cannot control me- Bagbin tells minority

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has firmly rejected suggestions that his actions or Parliament’s work are influenced by the executive branch of government.

Responding to remarks by Asante-Akim Central MP, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, during Thursday’s debate on the Appointments Committee’s report on Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, Mr. Bagbin stated that no arm of the executive has any authority over him or Parliament.

“The statement you just made is a very serious statement. As I sit here, there’s no executive that can control me,” the Speaker said on Thursday, November 13.

Mr. Anyimadu-Antwi had alleged that the executive was exerting undue influence over both the legislature and the judiciary, claims he said partly explained the Minority’s walkout during the vetting of Justice Baffoe-Bonnie.

He further argued that with legal challenges still pending over the removal of former Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, Parliament’s vetting process was premature and an attempt by the executive to “control Parliament and Ghana.”

In his rebuttal, Mr. Bagbin stressed that Parliament is an independent and coequal arm of government, operating strictly within the provisions of the 1992 Constitution, and will not succumb to any form of executive interference.