The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has suspended four Members of Parliament (MPs) for two weeks effective immediately following a chaotic incident that occurred during Thursday’s sitting of the Appointments Committee.

The suspended MPs include the two chief Whips for both the Minority and Majority caucuses, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor and Frank Annoh-Dompreh, as well as Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli and Jerry Ahmed Shaib.

Meanwhile, the Speaker has also set up a Committee to probe the incident.

The suspension comes after an incident that the Speaker described as an embarrassment to the institution of Parliament.

Speaker Bagbin has directed the Parliamentary Marshal to prevent the suspended MPs from entering the chamber for the period.

The decision was made in light of the disorder that occurred during the vetting of ministerial nominees, which disrupted the smooth conduct of the committee’s work. Tables and microphones were broken in the process, with some MPs nearly engaging blows.

Speaker Bagbin made it clear that such behaviour would not be tolerated and warned of further action should similar incidents arise in the future.

During his statement, Speaker Bagbin expressed his disappointment over the actions of the MPs involved.

He emphasised that their conduct was unbecoming of Members of Parliament and said the incident had brought shame to the legislative body.

He further explained that the suspension was necessary to maintain order and discipline within the parliamentary proceedings, which he said had been severely undermined by the actions of the MPs.

Speaker Bagbin also alluded to the possibility of additional consequences if such disruptions continue.

He assured the public that Parliament would take a firm stand against any actions that could harm its reputation and disrupt its work.

This comes after the Appointments Committee apologised for the incident before the start of today's vetting.