Minority withdraws from Appointments Committee over Speaker’s ruling

In a dramatic turn of events, the Minority side of the Appointments Committee has recused themselves from the vetting proceedings, citing concerns over an earlier ruling by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, which called for the reconstitution of the committee.

The boycott was triggered after Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, raised the issue with Committee Chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, referencing the Speaker’s directive.

The ruling followed the suspension of four MPs for two weeks due to misconduct during a chaotic session on Thursday, January 31, 2024.

The suspended members include the Majority and Minority Chief Whips, Frank Annoh-Dompreh and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, as well as Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli and Jerry Ahmed Shaib.

Afenyo-Markin argued that the vetting process should be suspended to allow for consultations with the Speaker regarding the committee’s reconstitution.

However, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga countered that the Speaker had rescheduled the meeting for Monday, February 3, 2025, due to his current unavailability.

Despite Ayariga’s remarks, the Minority Leader maintained that the vetting should be halted in light of the Speaker’s ruling, standing firm on their decision to boycott the proceedings.