Ghana’s newly inaugurated parliament members sent furniture flying, pushed and shoved late Thursday night, as they bantered over the list of ministerial nominees sent in by President John Mahama.
But on Friday morning the lawmakers appear to be sober as chairman of the vetting committee Bernard Ahiafor, apologised to his countrymen over the “totally unacceptable” behavior.
Trouble started when members of the National Democratic Congress who are in the majority after December 2024 elections accused their New Patriotic Party colleagues of unnecessary prolonging the ministerial screening, to settle political scores. The charged atmosphere degenerated into a shouting match and mayhem followed. The police later intervened to bring the MPs back to basics.
NDC MPs had accused Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the NPP’s leader in parliament, of dragging the vetting exercise. The NDC MPs were enraged it took more than five hours to clear just one nominee – communications minister designate Samuel Nartey George.
Many NDC MPs believe this was a form of payback from opposition MPs on the committee, who wanted George to retract his criticism of former president and NPP leader Nana Akufo-Addo and Akufo-Addo’s Vice-President Mahamadu Bawumia.
On Friday, the NPP’s Afenyo-Markin said parliamentary customs allowed committee members “the opportunity to enquire deeply into every nominee of the president, without limit to questions”.
He accused the NDC of trying to “frustrate” this process.
