Professor Appiagyei-Atuah said that minority should not be boycotting parliament because they have urgent business to do for the country but it appears that is the only way they think they can express their grievances and concerns.
Speaking on the Ghana Tonight on TV3 Wednesday, July 19, he said “It comes down to the point being made that the Attorney-General should file a nolle prosequi to discharge the accused. I think that that would have taken away the political bias elements in the case and ensured that indeed the ruling party has accepted loss magnanimously and we want to move on, we want to ensure the affairs of the country are run in a stable, smooth way.
“As it stands now we see what is happening in Parliament. I personally think that the NDC should not go to the extent of boycotting parliament because they have urgent business to do for the sake of the country but this is what they think they can do to express their grievances and concerns. But at the end of the day, it is hurting the people of Ghana. To avoid such situations, it is important for some level of political maturity and tolerance so we are able to move beyond this case.”
The Minority decided to reciprocate the response to the government’s escalation of what they describe as ‘persecution’ of Mr Quayson.
In a statement, the opposition lawmakers said “Following a request by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, that Hon. James Gyakye Quayson be tried on a daily basis, despite an application for stay of proceedings and a pending application before the Court of Appeal against the daily trial, the High Court has ruled that it will continue to hear the case daily.
“In essence, the rulings by the High Court put Hon. James Gyakye Quayson in the same position that he was placed in by the Supreme Court before the Assin North Constituency by-election
“If the Member of Parliament must appear in court every week day for trial, what time will he have to attend to Parliamentary business to represent the people of Assin North? We are therefore, at this point, including all options available to us to defend and protect our colleague. Hon. James Gyakye Quayson is the only person to have been elected twice within a Parliamentary term.
“He first won the 2020 Parliamentary election in Assin North Constituency, which was declared null and void by the Supreme Court after two and a half years. This triggered a by-election which he won again by an overwhelming 57.56% on 27th.”
