The former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes, has been directed by the Parliamentary service Board (PSB) to return all items he took away from his official residence upon leaving office. He was given one week to comply. The directive followed a marathon meeting Tuesday by the PSB to consider Mr Sekyi Hugh­es' response to an earlier report by an ad-hoc com­mittee of Parliament which asked him to explain his action. In his response, Mr Hughes had asked the Board to go and retrieve the items from his private residence. In a letter issued by his solicitors, Zoe, Akyea & Co, and addressed to the secretary of the board, Mr Hughes said he was "no longer interested in the items he took away from the Speaker's official residence, bona fide." According to the letter, the former Speaker did not want to feed the frenzy of those who believed that without scandalising others, their own promi­nence would be diminished. "Accordingly, for the sake of good governance, the integrity of the high office he previous­ly occupied and in good conscience, our client states categorically that he is no longer interested in the items he took from the Speaker's official residence, bona fide," it said. It, therefore, invited the board to "arrange for the collection of the items from his private resi­dence in Accra, at your earliest convenience, on agreed time schedule". The letter, dated May 25, 2009, said the former Speaker was given a briefing relating to the provi­sion of soft furnishings and other amenities and the disposal of same to the leadership and senior officers of Parliament. "It is on record that some retiring and exiting leaders and officers of Parliament had in the past benefited from this practice," it said, According to the letter, armed with that infor­mation, the ex-Speaker took away some furnish­ings and other amenities in his official residence when he left the residence on February 26,2009. The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the matter should be closed since the speaker has agreed to return the items. He said there were national issues that needed attention and the country should pay attention to those issues. But the Majority Leader, Alban Bagbin, says the directive by the PSB to Mr Sakyi-Hughes to return the items does not preclude investigations into the issue by other state institutions. He told Joy News the former Speaker could still be questioned on the legality of his actions. Story by Malik Abass Daabu with additional files from Daily Graphic