Ablakwa To Be Dragged To Privileges Committee

The Vice Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, Collins Owusu Amankwah, is considering hauling his colleague Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa before the Privileges Committee of the House.

He wants Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who is also the Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee dragged before the committee over claims that some Ghanaians are fighting for ISIS in Libya.

Mr. Ablakwa at a press conference earlier this week, called on the government to investigate the alleged participation of some Ghanaians in ISIS activities. He said his information was based on a recent report released by the Head of Investigations at the Libyan Attorney General’s office.

But the Manhyia South MP, Mr. Amankwah, said Okudzeto Ablakwa’s comments were unsubstantiated and had the potential of jeopardizing national security.

“Issues they raised were not substantiated. The issues bothered on security matters and security matters are not like Makola or Kejetia matters where you can handle it anyhow. Some of us are considering dragging him to the privileges committee so that henceforth, such matters will be well handled as far as the legislature is concerned.”

“Foreign policy is different from national security. He could talk about it, but not the manner in which he did. We need to double-check such facts before we put it out there to create unnecessary tension and create fear and panic,” he said.

He added that, “Not everything must be put before the public especially when it bothers on defence and security… The port of call must be through the national security or ministry of interior… What is his motivation in the first place?”

Meanwhile, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa insists that the Minority in Parliament did no wrong in bringing the matter up in public. He said if for anything at all, the minority deserve commendation for exposing the report to the public.

“I thought that the Minority would be commended that we are being diligent and that we are following [the matter]. As ranking member of the Foreign Affairs committee, I’m not supposed to just be cocooned within the Ghanaian space and follow only what the Ghanaian media has talked about,” Ablakwa said on Eyewitness News on Thursday.

In response to the Minority’s public comments on the matter, the Majority said on Wednesday that the government is investigating the report, and will certainly break its silence on the matter after the investigation.

Ablakwa urged the government to treat the matter as a top priority, as it potentially concerned the safety of Ghanaians.

“This is a very serious matter and that is why we believe that government must accord it all the seriousness it deserves. We did conduct background checks” he insisted.

Source: Citifmonline