The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has lodged a formal complaint against the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accusing him of defying a parliamentary resolution and nearly causing the ECOWAS Parliament to reject Ghana’s delegation.
Addressing the House on Tuesday, November 11, Mr Ayariga said Mr Afenyo-Markin attended a sitting of the ECOWAS Parliament in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, despite being removed from Ghana’s delegation earlier in July.
According to him, Parliament had passed a resolution on July 22 that approved a new list of delegates and excluded the Minority Leader.
Mr Ayariga explained that during the ECOWAS Parliament’s session in late September, Ghana’s officially recognised delegation faced a setback when the regional body refused to swear them in because Mr Afenyo-Markin was present as part of the group.
He described the Minority Leader’s actions as a direct challenge to the authority of Ghana’s Parliament.
“By defying this resolution and attending the session, he has affronted the dignity of this House,” Mr Ayariga said.
He therefore called on the Speaker to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee, urging that appropriate sanctions be applied if the committee upholds his complaint.
Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin, responding to the issue, said he would carefully consider the complaint before deciding whether to refer it to the Privileges Committee.
“The rules are clear,” he said. “I will take the whole of today to consider the complaint, and tomorrow I will communicate my decision to the House. Members will have an opportunity to speak on it.”
The delegation approved by Parliament in July includes George K. Ricketts-Hagan as leader, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, Laadi Ayii Ayamba, Eric Afful, Dominic Napare, Patricia Appiagyei, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, and Bryan Acheampong as members, with Millicent Yeboah Amankwah serving as an observer.
Speaker Bagbin is expected to announce his decision on Wednesday, November 12.
