Leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Caucus in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has sharply criticized Speaker Alban Bagbin for what he describes as a failure to maintain order and uphold the rule of law within the legislative body.
Afenyo-Markin’s comments came in response to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmakers’ decision to occupy the majority side of Parliament during an emergency recall session on November 7, 2024.
This parliamentary recall was initiated by Deputy Majority Whip Hon. Alex Tetteh Djornobuah following Speaker Bagbin’s indefinite adjournment of the House due to the absence of NPP members.
Afenyo-Markin expressed his discontent with the situation, stating, “The speaker supervised chaos… clearly the NDC is on a war path; they want confusion, and they want lawlessness in this country, and all these are being supervised by Mr. Speaker.”
During a press conference, Afenyo-Markin lamented the Speaker’s handling of parliamentary proceedings, accusing him of exacerbating tensions rather than fostering reconciliation.
He urged Bagbin to demonstrate statesmanship and reminded him that while the NPP was not pleased with his election as Speaker, it was not solely the NDC that supported his appointment.
“Mr. Speaker is hurting democracy… how can the speaker say he respects the constitution but will not subject himself to its dictates?” Afenyo-Markin questioned.
He used the opportunity to call on the speaker to demonstrate his statemanship as even though the NPP Caucus of Parliament was not happy that he was elected as the Speaker, they want him to understand that it was the NPP Caucus that made him who he is today.
“We call on him to demonstrate statesmanship, we want him to know that although we were not happy on the day he was elected, it wasn’t the NDC that put him but members of our side,” Mr Afenyo-Markin stated categorically.
