The Chairman of Parliament’s Privileges Committee and First Deputy Speaker, Ebo Burton Odro on Thursday disallowed Members of Parliament (MPs) from questioning Professor Alex Dodoo who had early on described them as “ignorant.”
The Professor appeared before the committee to answer questions regarding his description of MPs reaction to the Ebola clinical vaccine trial in Ghana as ignorant.
[contextly_sidebar id=”UxwFiyCb7OCNUmknKfJ5WBqgMeKCsIxu”]The MPs who did not take his comments lightly, summoned him to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament.
Although on Tuesday, his counsel, Yonny Kulendi apologised to the MPs on his behalf, Prof. Dodoo appeared before the MPs on Thursday to personally render his apology.
He apologised for his utterances with the explanation that championing vaccine safety for over 25 years is his passion and it got the better part of him when people were opposing the trial.
He said: “Chairing the Global Vaccine Safety Initiative and working in vaccine and medicine safety for the past 25 plus years…one develops the passion to get this job done so the national interest overrides everything but to the extent that that national interest has been compromised by the heat generated by those unfortunate statements…I offer a sincere and unqualified apology to the House and the nation.”
Professor Dodoo who is the chairman of the Global Vaccine Safety Initiative indicated that in his line of work, he relies heavily on state institutions for support therefore, “it will be paradoxical to be undermining Parliament.”
“I will never at any point disrespect the decision of Parliament nor indeed, Members of Parliament; that is not my interest,” he said, adding that, “but to the extent that my words, actions or inactions have led to that, I will offer to the House, members and to the people of Ghana, an unqualified apology.”
After the apology, members of the committee were expected to grill the Professor but Barton Odro intervened with the explanation that since there has been a formal apology from the Professor, they had to end the proceeding.
“We’ve heard it all from the horse’s own mouth. Left to me alone, there should be no further questioning,” he said.
Mr. Odro indicated that the committee will prepare its report for a decision to be made.
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana