• Okudzeto Ablakwa has responded to some criticisms levelled against him
• He had been accused of violating parliamentary principles
• He insists that he has done nothing wrong
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu has issued a counter-argument to critics who have questioned his handling of the luxurious plane saga.
Ablakwa has suffered attacks from some persons including veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako who described Ablakwa’s seeming penchant for the media with regards to this issue as an act of irresponsibility.
Baako said on Good Morning Ghana that Ablakwa’s conduct is not only prejudicial but also unbefitting of a member of parliament.
“What he did was irresponsible. You set questions before Parliament, expecting answers and you are out there. You can’t ask questions and go out there.
“I heard Ablakwa talking about 200,000, 2.8 million and all that, it is needless. Completely needless at this stage. He ought to wait for the Minister of Finance to come to the house and give answers relative to the financial package. It’s a needless reaction that reflects what Ablakwa has been doing all along. He didn’t need the Minister of Defence’s reference to cost. The Minister’s answer was not an answer to Ablakwa’s question which is tailored for the Minister of Finance,” he said.
Reacting to this criticism on Friday, June 19 edition of the same program, Okudzeto Ablakwa admitted that he is ‘hurt’ by the attacks but added that his resolve to push the issue and get the needed answers for the public remains unwavering.
He defended his actions, asserting that none of the parliamentary standing orders bars him from commenting on issues despite filing a question before the house.
Okudzeto Ablakwa said, “I want to react to two criticisms that have been levelled against me since I put out this information. The first is that I continue to run commentary even when I have filed questions. They have even suggested that having come into the information I came into, I should not have done the write up I did and that I should have just filed the parliamentary question and just kept quiet and wait for a response.
“Some have even gone to the extent of calling me irresponsible and all that. I have been quite hurt by those statements but I remain determined and I have absolutely no regret for the strategy that I deployed. The reason why this matter remains life in parliament is that I have not breached any of our Standing Orders.”
“I have here the standing orders and I have read through, there is nowhere in these standing orders that says that if you are going to file a parliamentary question as a member of parliament, you cannot speak to the issue”, he stressed.
