Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin says he was shocked to hear Legal Practitioner and Council of State member, Sam Okudzeto threaten to deal with lawmakers following a move to initiate a private members’ bill intended to amend the Legal Profession Act, 1960, Act 32.
The sponsors of the bill, Member of Parliament for Madina Francis-Xavier Sosu and his colleague from South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekor had incurred the wrath of lawyer Sam Okudzeto in a move to effect legal changes in the legal profession.
Reacting to this, Mr Okudzeto berated the two lawmakers threatening to deal with them according to the rules of the committee.
“They have problems, I think they should just go and keep quiet because there can be more troubles than they realised in the fact that we are concerned. If you misbehave, we will deal with you in accordance with the rules and laws that have been laid down,”
Speaking on the threat, Speaker, Alban Bagbin said at a forum in Kumasi on Monday November 15 that “Sometimes, you hear people in civil society questioning Parliament for some of the decisions or actions we have taken including my learned friend the learned Attorney General and Minister for Justice as to a legislator. Calling for a review of a law that the legislature has passed, and that is said to be a sin and a senior advocate of Ghana could come out and say he will deal with you.
“I got shocked. What is that oversight for? That, after I have passed a law and given you a responsibility I can’t over see it, I can’t say you are not doing it properly, maybe because of some deficiencies in the law and therefore we want to call back the law and revise it, update it, you are dealing with me?
“I was really shocked, I didn’t understand but it is part of the long tenure of military regime where people just think that we have power, nobody has power , the power is with the people , not with any individual.
“ That is why our parliament is not sovereign unlike the British Parliament that is sovereign. Our Parliament is not, limited by the constitution , we are governed by it and so there is a lot for us to do and it can only be done not by parliament but by all of us.”
