Hon. Asiamah is reported by Hon Fuseini to have referred to Northerners as ‘people who lack the culture of property owning which makes them lazy and always wanting to be spoon-fed’.
A transcribed and translated version of the Fanteakwa MP’s comments presented to Parliament by Hon Fuseini read, ‘all they do is to cut down trees and burn them into charcoal. Whenever you see a vehicle carrying charcoal, it is from the north. Why? They are always involved in tribal and community wars so the place is not stable; they are always on the move. Vandalism has also become a culture there’.
Speaking to Citi News on Tuesday June 1, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini insisted that the comments by the Fanteakwa MP were ethnocentric and sought to impugn the integrity of Northerners. But Minority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has rejected the accusation, saying the comments by Hon Asiamah have been twisted and taken out of context.
‘I heard the submission by the colleague on Peace FM and I think that the presentation by Hon Fuseini Inusah was rather unfortunate. The transcription that he submitted to Parliament is full of inaccuracies and gives a twist of what Hon. Asiamah said’ the Minority Leader maintained.
The New Patriotic Party has meanwhile apologized on behalf of Hon. Asiamah to all persons affected by the comments.
The Speaker of Parliament was expected to respond to Hon. Fuseini’s demand to drag the MP before the Privileges Committee based on the content of the said sound bite. But in Parliament on Thursday June 2, Hon. Inusah Fuseini, withdrew his demand for the matter to be referred to the Privileges Committee.
He told Citi FM’s Parliament Correspondent Richard Sky, that he took the decision not because his claims are untrue, but because leaders of both sides of the House had asked that the matter be discussed at the leadership level since it was a sensitive issue.
‘I have not withdrawn the matter as a matter that leadership should not handle. But what I have withdrawn is the invitation to the Speaker to refer the conduct of the Hon. MP to Privileges Committee. And in hearing the sentiments of the House, we thought that in matters as sensitive as this, in their view, they felt that opportunity should be given to leadership to try to address the situation and I thought that it is a wise move.
“That doesn’t derogate from the fact that the MP for Fanteakwa made some remarks on Peace FM that were derogatory of people of Northern descent. The fact that he apologized for those comments reinforces what I said yesterday(June 1)’ he noted.
Source: Citifmonline
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