The Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Bernard Ahiafor, has firmly rejected calls from Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to remove the Clerk to the Committee, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, declaring that such a move would happen under his watch.
Ahiafor insists that the Clerk has done nothing wrong to warrant her removal, dismissing the allegations against her as baseless and politically motivated.
“She is a typical NDC member. I will report to the Clerk to Parliament to have her removed,” Afenyo-Markin had earlier stated, arguing that Mrs. Jiagge-Gobah is partisan and cannot be trusted with the committee’s work.
However, Ahiafor was unequivocal in his response, stating that the attacks on the Clerk were unjustified.
“The Clerk is not partisan. Partisan in what manner? What he did to the Clerk is rather unfortunate, uncalled for, and unbecoming of a Member of Parliament,” he said in an interview with Alfred Ocansey on February 3.
Ahiafor did not mince words in his defense of Mrs. Jiagge-Gobah, adding that anyone unwilling to work with her might as well abandon the committee entirely.
“If they don’t want to work with Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, then they don’t want to work at the Appointments Committee because, as Chairman, I will never recommend her removal. Not today, not tomorrow.”
He further urged Afenyo-Markin to apologise to the Clerk, describing his actions as unacceptable.
“She is a mother, and she has been in this House for 19 years. She doesn’t deserve that, so I expect the Minority Leader to apologise. She is sacrificing for the Committee, and we should not be denigrating her before the cameras.”
In a scathing remark, Ahiafor attributed Afenyo-Markin’s actions to lingering frustration from the December 7 elections, claiming that the Minority was still reeling from their unexpected losses.
“It is rather unfortunate that the Minority side are still bleeding from the election wound, because their number was not expected by them,” Ahiafor said.
He further accused Afenyo-Markin of displaying an “overbearing attitude” fueled by disappointment.
“For me, he (Afenyo-Markin) is acting out of frustration as a result of the election defeat. They are bleeding from the election defeat.”
The dispute comes on the heels of rising tensions in Parliament, following the dramatic suspension of four MPs—Rockson Dafeamekpor, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, Hassan Tampuli, and Frank Annor-Dompreh—after chaotic scenes during a vetting session on January 30.
The Minority has since condemned Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision, calling it “unlawful” and are calling for a reverse of the pronouncement.
The committee investigating the chaos during the vetting of ministerial nominees will however begin public hearings on Wednesday, February 5.
