Ghana Parliament Speaker ejects MP over diplomatic passport allegations

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin ordered the removal of Damongo MP Samuel Abu Jinapor from the Chamber on November 3 following a dispute regarding allegations of diplomatic passport sales. Abu Jinapor had claimed that diplomatic passports were being sold for amounts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.

Following the remarks, Speaker Bagbin reportedly offered Abu Jinapor the opportunity to either withdraw the comments or have them expunged from the official record. The Speaker's decision to eject the MP after he failed to follow the directive for an unqualified withdrawal triggered a walkout by the Minority caucus.

Observers and political figures have commented on the incident. Peter Lanchene Toobu accused Abu Jinapor of being disrespectful to the Speaker and attempting to create media content from the controversy. Conversely, Hamza Suhuyini defended the Speaker's actions, stating that Abu Jinapor failed to follow established parliamentary procedures by restating the substance of his claim instead of making a formal withdrawal.