Afenyo-Markin At The Centre Of Confusion Between NPP, NDC MPs As Vetting Of Minister-Nominees Resume
- Minority Leader Alex Afenyo-Markin was at the centre of a dispute during the vetting of a nominated minister
- The confusion around Afenyo-Markin led to the appointments committee hearing being suspended for five minutes
- The committee was vetting Kwame Agbodza, the Ghanaian Minister-designate for Roads and Highways
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The January 20 sitting of Parliament's appointments committee started on a rocky note, with a dispute between Minority Leader Alex Afenyo-Markin and the majority group members.
The confusion was sparked by Afenyo-Markin, who was seeking to address national issues during the ministerial vetting process.

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However, the majority side strongly opposed the minority leader's attempts, arguing that the vetting process was not the appropriate forum for such discussions.
The committee was in the midst of vetting Kwame Agbodza, the Minister-designate for Roads and Highways.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister-designate of Education, and Eric Opoku, the Minister-designate of Food and Agriculture, is set to be vetted later.
During the exchange, Majority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson urged the committee chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, to be firmer.
“Mr Chairman, be strong and do your job," Forson said at one point, feeding into the perception that Ahiafor has struggled to control the committee.
Ahiafor had to suspend the sitting at one point due to misunderstandings among the committee members. Subsequently, Afenyo-Markin accused the chairman of acting in bad faith because of a lack of engagement.
During the last vetting sitting for Attorney General-designate Dr Dominic Ayine on January 13, Afenyo-Markin led the minority MPs to walk out of the meeting temporarily following a dispute.
What point did Afenyo-Markin try to make?
Afenyo-Markin argued that a cabinet needed to be in place before a secretary to that cabinet could be appointed.
Therefore, since no cabinet has been formed, it would be inappropriate for President John Mahama to copy an unknown secretary to the cabinet in dealings with Parliament.

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After making his preliminary remarks, the minority leader continued to raise another issue regarding the revocation of appointments and re-appointments of CEOs of state-owned enterprises.
However, he was stopped by a point of order by Mahama Ayariga, the MP for Bawku Central, which Afenyo-Markin felt was rude.
Mahama appoints National Security Coordinator
YEN.com.gh also reported that Mahama made key national security appointments on January 15.
Former Chief of Staff Prosper Douglas Bani has been appointed National Security Advisor to Ghana's President.
DCOP Abdul-Osman Razak would serve as the National Security Coordinator, ensuring a cohesive strategy across all security initiatives.
COP Nathan Kofi Boakye has been appointed Director of Operations at the Presidency to oversee operational effectiveness in security matters.
Charles Kipo has been named Director General of the National Intelligence Bureau.
Mahama minister nominees so far
YEN.com.gh reported that the president has made 25 ministerial nominations so far, including 13 regional ministers. The President started by nominating Forson, John Jinapor, and Dominic Ayine to high-level cabinet portfolios.

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Forson was nominated and vetted for the Finance Minister's portfolio, Jinapor was vetted for the Energy Minister's portfolio, and Ayine was nominated and vetted as the Attorney General and Minister of Justice-designate.
Subsequently, nine other ministers were nominated, including Haruna Iddrisu, as the Education Minister-designate in his latest batch of nominations, and Eric Opoku, nominated as the Minister for Food and Agriculture.
Proofread by Bruce Douglas, senior copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh