The Minister-designate for Communication and Digitization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has described sitting on her fellow legislator Kwabena Mintah Akandoh during the dissolution of the 7th Parliament as using physical restraint to subdue him.
Her comment is with reference to the incident that happened in the Chamber of Parliament during the early hours of Wednesday, January 7, 2020 during the election of a new Speaker of Parliament.
As part of the events of that day, MPs of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament occupied the seats meant for their colleagues on the other side of the aisle, creating confusion in the House when the NPP MPs came in.
According to Madam Owusu, the Juaboso MP had occupied her seat after she took a trip to the bathroom and refused to vacate her seat even when she had returned.
His refusal to vacate her seat, according to her, left her with limited options, of which sitting on his lap was the preferred choice under the circumstances. This, however, was in defiance of his decision to occupy her seat and as a means to subdue him from pushing her off and causing any "unintended consequences" to himself.
“After all the excitement of that day, I didn’t want to be party to such a thing. But I did need to sit down. So I sat in the chair that I was occupying before I went to the washroom, which he happened to be sitting on. When I sat down, he started trying to shake me off and was moving back and forth before he quickly realized that it would have unintended consequences that would not be good for him.
"And so he quickly stopped and froze. And at that point, I decided to restrain him from causing any further damage to himself,” the MP designate for Communication and Digitization explained.
"I used physical restraint to subdue him. So it was a physical restraint to subdue an obstreperous adult," she stated emphatically.
She also noted that that in her experience "even when there are seats available, the gentlemen get up to offer their seats to ladies who may not have a seat in the house. They do not leave the chair that they are sitting on to come and occupy the seat that the lady is sitting on."
As such, in her opinion, it was evident that Mr Akandoh - whose seat was empty - was "hoping to provoke an incident" when he decided to occupy her seat even after she had returned from the washroom.
Latest Stories
-
‘After The floods’: VRA and GMet clash over cause of Akosombo Dam spillage disaster
13 mins -
‘After The Floods’: Victims suffer harsh conditions 6 months after Akosombo dam disaster
29 mins -
Akufo-Addo to unveil Otumfuo commemorative stamp
55 mins -
EduSpots distributes over 100 tablets and laptops to 30 community-led education spaces
1 hour -
Taxation is driving away investors – FABAG General Secretary
1 hour -
Effutu MP commissions office for Hepatitis B; absorbs cost of testing, vaccination and management
2 hours -
Bawumia pushes for land digitisation to tackle land guard menace
2 hours -
Faith-based institutions are instrumental in national development – Bawumia
2 hours -
Upholding the Integrity of Presidential Promises: A call to Ghanaian leaders
2 hours -
I don’t start ‘beefs’; I only reply – Strongman refutes claims
2 hours -
Vice President Bawumia promises reforms to turn Ghana’s fortunes around
2 hours -
REGSEC warns encroachers along Tema-Sakumono Ramsar site as it races to prevent flooding
2 hours -
Kumasi International Airport to be commissioned ahead of time – Transport Ministry
3 hours -
Vomit your loot now or hold onto it and face the consequences – Asiedu Nketiah to Akufo-Addo, NPP
3 hours -
Democracy is going to reverse in West Africa if we don’t tackle economic hardships – Atuguba
3 hours