Tensions in Parliament flared as the Majority took issue with Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin over his conduct during the vetting of Deputy Attorney General and Justice Minister-designate, Justice Srem-Sai.
The disagreement, which played out before a national audience, has since escalated into accusations of disrespect and the use of unparliamentary language.
The controversy arose when Afenyo-Markin allegedly insisted that the nominee “dance to a tune,” a move the Majority viewed as inappropriate.
“Directly, we have no position, indirectly though, the action the chairman took was our position.
The minority leader wanted a nominee to dance to a tune. I think that we shouldn’t reduce the vetting committee to a dancing floor,” a Majority representative stated, defending the chairman’s decision to overrule the request.
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With the vetting process being a crucial step in ensuring competent appointments, the Majority expressed concern over what they saw as an attempt to trivialize the proceedings. “We spoke about languages on February 25, and a day before [February 24].
Those are quite different. This is a vetting committee, the entire world is watching. A presidential nominee you say he should dance—that didn’t sit well,” the statement continued.
The friction intensified when the chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, intervened.
However, according to the Majority, Afenyo-Markin’s response crossed the line of parliamentary decorum. “And so, the chairman overruled it. Then he decided to use very unparliamentary words on the chairman. He vehemently refused to withdraw,” the statement concluded.
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