Prioritise national interest over personal allegiances – Dr Rasheed tells Minority MPs – Nsemkeka
The Executive Director of the African Centre for Parliamentary Affairs (ACEPA), Dr Rasheed Draman, has called on Members of Parliament (MPs) to uphold their constitutional responsibilities and prioritise the national interest above personal or political loyalties.
His comment comes after the Minority MPs on Thursday staged a walkout, following the arrest and detention of Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman, Bernard Antwi-Bosiako, also known as Wontumi.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin announced that the NPP side would boycott all parliamentary proceedings until the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) reviews and relaxes the bail conditions placed on Wontumi, who is being investigated for allegedly causing financial loss to the state, fraud and money laundering.
Speaking on the JoyNews News Desk on Thursday, May 30, Dr Draman expressed concern about what he described as a growing tendency among MPs to prioritise individual and partisan interests at the expense of their constitutional duties.
Read also: Minority walkout over Wontumi detention lacks strategic value in current Parliament – ACEPA boss
“I think it is important that our Members of Parliament begin to separate the duties they owe to us as a country and their allegiance to the constitution — to represent all of us — from the interests of some individuals, whether powerful or not,” Dr Draman stated.
He emphasised that the primary compass guiding every MP should be the constitution and the collective will of the people they represent.
“The two most important directions are the constitution and the people, which by extension includes the national interest,” he said.
However, Dr Draman lamented that in practice, many legislators appear to be straying from this path.
“What we see most of the time is Members of Parliament pledging allegiance to powerful presidents, influential individuals, and even their own personal interests, rather than to what they swore to do once elected,” he noted.
He pointed to a recent situation—though unspecified—as a clear example of MPs veering away from their most critical obligations.
“We are seeing a very clear display of that – they are putting parochial and individual interests ahead of the national good,” Dr Draman concluded.