Haruna Iddrisu, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing Tamale South, struggled to find a seat in the Minority section of the chamber on Thursday.
Since Joe Wise was the one who presided over the meeting, he was forced to take the vacant seat on the Majority side held by Bekwai MP and First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu.
The former Minority Leader was asked to take Collins Dauda’s position in the front row after the recent reorganization of the parliamentary leadership.
However, Mr. Dauda objected to the choice that left Mr. Iddrisu hanging.
Mr. Iddrisu has informed the House that he would not occupy Mr. Dauda’s chair but will instead sit in any other chair that is made available to him.
“There was [an issue] of whether I should take over from Collins Dauda or not and I have told them that Collins Dauda is senior by age…he is senior even to this House. So I will not sit in his chair as somebody who is well trained from home.
“So any other chair is acceptable to me, I am still the elected representative for Tamale South,” he said.
Members, particularly those on his side, looked on in surprise.
Former leaders and senior members of the House always take the front seat in Parliament as a matter of tradition.
However, the Minority Party contains some of the most experienced members, like Cletus Avoka and Collins Dauda; as a result, one of them must yield the chairmanship to Mr. Iddrisu.
James Klutse Avedzi, the previous Deputy Majority Leader, has agreed to take Armah Kofi Buah’s place behind his own.
