The Daboya-Mankarigu MP, Shaibu Mahama, has ridiculed the Minority Caucus for walking out of Parliament’s Appointments Committee hearing for the next Chief Justice, saying their actions exposed a lack of preparation and purpose.
Appearing on JoyNews’ PM Express on Monday, November 10, he said the Minority came to the vetting “with a script” but failed to follow through.
“Clearly, the Minority came not to ask questions, but it came with a script. Unfortunately, they couldn’t mark the script,” he said.
The vetting of Supreme Court Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie for the position of Chief Justice was thrown into controversy on Monday after the Minority Caucus announced its rejection of his nomination and abstained from the vetting.
The decision, announced by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, followed a tense exchange with Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga that led to a brief suspension of the proceedings.
When the session resumed, Mr Afenyo-Markin led his side to walk out, leaving only Majority MPs on the Appointments Committee to continue with the vetting process.
Mr Shaibu argued that the Majority Leader acted strictly within the rules of Parliament during the heated exchanges that preceded the walkout.
“Every single act that the Majority Leader did was clearly in line with the rules and regulations that govern the proceedings of Parliament.
“Indeed, the vetting committee or appointments committee is an extension of Parliament. So every rule that you will expect from Plenary is the same rules that are applied,” he stated.
According to the Daboya-Mankarigu MP, the Minority’s objections during the vetting were misplaced.
“If you raise issues that offend the rules, the Majority Leader has every single right to object to that,” he said.
He added that “if you impugn the integrity of a committee that is not subject matter of the vetting or the appointments committee, he has every right to reject that.”
Mr Mahama said the Minority’s last-minute decision to attend the vetting despite earlier announcing a boycott only reinforced the perception that their walkout was premeditated.
“They did not come to the party,” he said pointedly.
“It came, rather, when you ask a question, whether they had announced that they were not even coming for the inverting. Then, suddenly, they appeared with the script. That script, unfortunately, they couldn’t mark it.