Minority Blames Parliament Clerk for Vetting Chaos as Afenyo-Markin Alleges Partisanship
Parliament descended into chaos on Thursday, January 30, as Minority and Majority MPs clashed during the vetting of Health Minister-designate Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Foreign Affairs Minister-designate Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
Amid the uproar, the Minority sought to shift blame onto the Clerk of Parliament, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, accusing her of mishandling the vetting process. However, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin took it a step further, alleging that she was openly partisan and aligned with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Speaking to the media after the disorderly session, Afenyo-Markin criticized the Clerk for what he described as unilateral actions.
“The nominees—where we have to ask them questions, we do. Nothing will stop us from asking the necessary questions. It’s not every nominee; some of their nominees spent five minutes. NDC is always up to intimidating people. They think that they must always bully,” he said.
He further accused the Clerk of advertising the vetting schedule without prior consensus.
“The Clerk to the Committee is a partisan clerk. She’s a typical NDC member, she agrees with them, and she advertises and informs people to come. On January 29, there was no agreement, no meeting, but at 10:00 pm, she advertised,” Afenyo-Markin alleged.
The chaos erupted when the Minority insisted on postponing the vetting to Friday, citing procedural concerns, while the Majority pushed for the process to continue as planned. Tensions escalated, with some Minority MPs resorting to disruptive tactics such as banging on tables and damaging microphones to stall proceedings.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga condemned the chaotic scenes, stating that they had “dented the image of Parliament.” In response to the unrest, he announced the suspension of the vetting process, rescheduling it for Friday, January 31.
