The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has lamented the actions and inaction of the legislature following the approval of the Finance Ministry’s GH₵2 billion budget allocation.

In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Thursday, he stated, "If there is any danger for our democracy and the need for transparency to be done, Parliament must take the lead. Unfortunately, the actions and inaction of the legislature are embarrassing.”

He made this comment after the 2nd Deputy Speaker, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, suspended sitting for an hour following a voice vote in which the Majority side lost as their Minority colleagues outnumbered them in the chamber.

In response to this, the Member of Parliament expressed disapproval, stating that the actions of the 2nd Deputy Speaker were inappropriate.

He described the suspension of the House as a disregard for the Standing Orders of Parliament and Parliamentary practices, adding that it is a “travesty of parliamentary procedure.”

“What the 2nd Deputy Speaker needed to do after the voice vote was done which was very clear that we [Minority] rejected the budget of the Ministry of Finance was to rule. So, this idea of suspending sitting and coming back to rule on it was embarrassing,” he noted.

Explaining what led to the budget’s approval, the lawmaker said that no bell was rung after the House resumed for business causing the Minority side to lose the voice vote for the second time.

He also questioned why the leadership of the Minority did not protest when they realised the members were few in the chamber.

“What the Majority did with the 2^nd Deputy Speaker was very clear. They knew that they have lost the vote and having lost the vote, they disregarded the procedure that is expected to be done,” he asserted.