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Speaker Doe Adjaho adjourns sitting, says Minority should wait for CHRAJ report

By www.primenewsghana.com
doe_adjaho
Speaker of Parliament Edward Doe Adjaho
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The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho has terminated the motion filed by the Minority in parliament calling for investigations into President’s John Mahama’s Ford gift saga. Mr. Doe Adjaho directed the Minority New Patriotic Party (NPP) members of the house to pursue the case at the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ).

According to the Speaker, various legal and constitutional provisions indicate that the body mandated to deal with such issues is the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice, (CHRAJ).

 "As a Speaker I am firmly convinced CHRAJ is the only mandated body to probe this case."    

“Ordinarily, having regard to standing order 79(4), I would have returned the motion to the member in whose name it stands as being inadmissible. But the motion was tied contemporaneously to the request for the recall of the house under standing order 38(1) which derives from article 123 of the constitution and therefore leaves me with no discretion in recalling the house. Standing order 79(4) also provides as follows: Every notice shall be submitted to Mr. Speaker who shall direct that it be printed in its original terms or with such amendments as he shall direct or that it be returned to the member submitting it as being inadmissible.” 

“I am therefore unable to admit this motion. I hereby direct the clerk to return the motion to the member in whose name it stands in line with standing order 79 (4).” 

Members of Parliament convened today [Thursday], for a sitting after an early recall from their recess by the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho. 

Doe Adjaho also adjourned sitting sine die. “Since this is the matter that has brought us here, I adjourned the House sine die.” 

Some months ago, a  report by a JOY FM investigative journalist, Manasseh Azuri Awuni suggetsed a Burkinabe contractor, Mr. Djibril Kanazoe gave Mahama a Ford Expedition car with engine number E173A1905101 and Chassis number 1FMJUIJ58aEB748 in 2012 as a gift, and in the same year, Mr. Djibril Kanazoe was awarded two contracts, which included the fencing of the Ghana Embassy Wall in Burkina Faso at a cost of $650,000 and also the construction the Dodo Pepeso-Nkwanta road which is part of the Eastern Corridor Road Project.

President Mahama was severely criticized for accepting the vehicle although he pointed out that the vehicle was added to the state’s pool of vehicles. Opponents alleged that the exposé signals a case of conflict of interest and called for the impeachment of the president.

Following this report, the minority headed by Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu filed a motion, calling for a bi-partisan committee to probe the controversial Ford gift given to the president. Already, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) is investigating the matter after a petition was forwarded to it.

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