Afenyo-Markin, Benard Ahiafor Exchange Attacks in Parliament

High-ranking Parliamentarians, Alexander Afenyo-Markin and Bernard Ahiafor clashed in the chamber on Tuesday, June 16 in a moment that went viral on social media.

Ahiafor, the 1st Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Parliament’s Appointment Committee, beseeched Afenyo-Markin, the Committee’s ranking member, to ‘take a cue’, which elicited an exaggerated, humorous response from the Effutu legislator

The moment occurred during the vetting of Supreme Court nominee, Justice Gbiel Suurbaareh.

Afenyo-Markin asked the nominee to comment on a past Supreme Court ruling, but Ahiafor stepped in, describing the question as inappropriate.

He said as a matter of law settled by the Supreme Court, asking a nominee to comment on it is unnecessary.

“Honourable members we need to operate within the rules, this is judgment delivered by the Supreme Court properly constituted, here is a nominee asking him his thoughts on a judgement delivered by the Supreme Court,” Ahiafor stated.

Afenyo-Markin disagreed, noting past nominees have answered similar questions once they are placed within a certain context.

“…The nominee says he has read the judgement and I am asking a question within a certain context, I need to pick his views on it, it doesn’t mean he is going to condemn the judgment or question it then if you are ruling us out of order then why are we here,” he replied.

Ahiafor asked the heated NPP leader to take a cue, which provoked his viral retort: “I should take a cut? O Jesus!”

Analysis

Since the NPP’s massive 2024 election loss, Minority leader Afenyo-Markin has often grabbed headlines, with his confrontational and dramatic speeches on the house floor and accompanying press conferences sparking online discussions.

Afenyo-Markin appears hell-bent on making the news every chance he gets.

One can’t really blame the Minority leader, as his party’s 2024 loss was so massive that their numbers in Parliament have become minuscule.

It’s easy to see the strategy here, which is to make every issue in Parliament contentious and to keep the party in the headlines always, no matter what, to ensure they do not sidle into irrelevance.

Source: Liberalprint.com