The Chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, has criticized Minority Leader and Ranking Member on the Committee, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, for what he describes as a failure to adjust to his new role in opposition.
Speaking on PM Express on Monday, February 3, Ahiafor acknowledged having a good working relationship with Afenyo-Markin but admitted that his behavior sometimes makes collaboration difficult.
“I have a very good relationship with him, but sometimes I find it very difficult to tolerate the excesses,” the Adaklu MP stated.
“I am one particular person who will not agree on something with you, only for you to turn around and act as if we never had that agreement. It pisses me off,” he added.
Ahiafor’s comments come amid rising tensions between the Minority and the Clerk of the Appointments Committee, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah. Afenyo-Markin and his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have accused the Clerk of bias, a claim Ahiafor dismissed.
He insisted that all committee reports are shared transparently with both the Chairman and the Ranking Member, rejecting claims that information was being withheld.
“There is nothing that the Clerk of the Committee has put out that we have not agreed upon,” Ahiafor stated.
“There has never been an occasion where the Clerk has failed to provide both of us with draft reports. Even in past sittings, we have received copies in full view of the cameras. So I don’t understand why he is alleging that reports are being kept from him.”
Ahiafor suggested that Afenyo-Markin’s struggles stem from his previous role as Majority Leader, making it difficult for him to adapt to the realities of opposition.
“It’s about time he realizes that he is no longer the Majority Leader but the Minority Leader. He can use any adjectives to describe himself—mighty or happy Minority—but at the end of the day, he is a Minority Leader,” Ahiafor argued.
He further explained that in parliamentary practice, Clerks take directives from the Chairman of the Committee, not the Ranking Member—a reality Afenyo-Markin has seemingly struggled to accept.
“Majority Leaders and Committee Chairmen direct the Clerk, but Clerks do not take instructions from the Ranking Member. That is why their letters often read, ‘I have been directed by the Chairman of the Committee,’ not the Ranking Member,” he clarified.
Ahiafor maintained that Afenyo-Markin’s perspective is still shaped by his time in the Majority and urged him to adjust to his new role.
“Because he is coming from the Majority side, I sometimes believe he forgets himself and does not realize that he is now operating as a Minority Leader,” he noted.
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