Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has called for stricter regulations to prevent non-accredited individuals from accessing ministerial vetting proceedings.
Speaking at the Special Committee sitting probing the recent vetting chaos, he noted that nominees often bring more than the allotted ten supporters, leading to overcrowding and disruptions.
“Some of these non-accredited members filter through to the committee room and proceedings, and so when there are issues like these, it’s very difficult,” he explained.
Dafeamekpor also proposed limiting the time allocated to ranking members during vetting, arguing that their unrestricted questioning often prolongs proceedings unnecessarily.
“When it comes to the ranking member, particularly on the vetting committee, they are given so much power to interrogate matters ad infinitum… and I think that poses a problem,” he emphasized. He suggested implementing fixed time frames for questioning to ensure efficiency.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has boycotted the committee’s sitting, stating that they will wait for the Speaker of Parliament’s response to their memorandum before participating.
“Given the significance of the issues raised, the Minority Caucus considers it prudent to await the Speaker’s response before taking any further steps in relation to the Committee’s work,” a portion of their memo addressed to the Ad-hoc Committee’s Chairman, Emmanuel Bedzrah, stated.
