Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor has dug through archives to find a video of First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, implicating himself.
The NDC Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, has gone through files in order to produce a video in which First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu rejects the right of a Deputy Speaker or any MP to vote during proceedings if he or she is presiding.
Mr. Osei Owusu’s decision to vote after presiding over a sitting in December 2021 sparked a brawl in Parliament.
The Minority deemed the action to be in violation of the Standing Orders, prompting some of them to pull the Speaker’s chairs and confront the Majority members in heated arguments that included pushing and hitting.
Justice Abdulai, a law instructor, brought the issue to court because he needed clarity on Articles 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution.
However, after weeks of deliberation, the Supreme Court determined on March 9 that “Joewise”, as the First Deputy Speaker is fondly known, did not violate the constitution by exercising his right to vote on that day.
The decision has sparked debate, with the country’s two main political adversaries, John Dramani Mahama and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, adopting opposing positions.
President Akufo-Addo applauds the decision, but former president John Dramani Mahama opposes it.
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Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor claims that the 1st Deputy Speaker was swayed to change his opinion by the necessity for the Majority to raise its numbers in order to vote on the problematic E-Levy.
“This was the 1st Deputy Speaker speaking to clarify this same matter sometime last year then they got him to change his mind a couple of months ago because they needed more numbers for Elevy” South Dayi’s Dafeamekpor wrote on Twitter on Friday.
