Parliament on Thursday put to rest a complaint of breach of Parliamentary privilege brought against the Member for Fanteakwa, Kwabena Amankwa Asiamah, by the Deputy Minister of Energy and MP for Tamale Central, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini. This was after Alhaji Fuseini decided to withdraw his complaint about the statement by his colleague who purportedly sought to portray northerners in bad light on Peace FM, an Accra based radio station, on May 30. The issue generated a heated debate in the house on Wednesday when Alhaji Fuseini brought up the matter and sought to urge the Speaker to refer it to the privileges committee for determination, but the speaker calmed down tempers and referred it to the leadership for determination. When the house reconvened on Thursday, Alhaji Fuseini made an application to the Speaker to have the complaint withdrawn, saying that he had been told that Mr. Asiamah’s attention was drawn to the remarks during the radio discussion by another panel member and he there and then duly apologised and clarified himself. He added that his attention was drawn to the fact that the Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, had issued a statement apologising to people who had been hurt after hearing it from “third party” sources. The Speaker of Parliament, Joyce Bamford-Addo, commended Alhaji Fuseini for his decision, and commended the leadership of the House for its role in amicably resolving the issue. Mrs. Bamford-Addo told the House: “It is better we “jaw-jaw” than “war-war”, and expressed the hope that the apology had been accepted in good faith. Commenting on the development, Mr. Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu said if Alhaji Fuseini’s attention had been drawn to the apology rendered by Mr. Asiamah on the programme, the matter would have ended there and stressed the need for such matters to be handled at the leadership level. He said once Mr. Fuseini had decided to withdraw the complaint then they should allow “sleeping dogs to lie” for the House to move forward. The Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka, expressing delight over the amicable resolution of the matter, said people looked up to them for emulation, and urged MPs to be circumspect in whatever they say. Source: The Ghanaian Times