The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has recounted an incident in which the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament nearly refused to swear in Ghana’s parliamentary delegation.

Ayariga said the near refusal was due to the conduct of the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.

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Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, November 11, 2025, Ayariga recounted that Afenyo-Markin had been removed from Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament following a resolution passed by the House.

“Mr Speaker, I think somewhere on the 22nd of July [2025], this House passed a resolution constituting the delegation of Ghana to the ECOWAS Community Parliament. Mr Speaker, if you recall, we had removed the name of the Minority Leader, Honorable Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, Member for Effutu, from the list of Ghana's delegation to the ECOWAS Community Parliament,” he said.

Ayariga explained that the decision, following the resolution, was duly communicated to the ECOWAS Parliament by the Speaker of the House, Alban Bagbin.

He added that during one of the ECOWAS sessions in Nigeria, the newly formed delegation attended only to find Afenyo-Markin present, despite his removal from Ghana’s delegation.

“Mr Speaker, this resolution of this Parliament was communicated to the ECOWAS Parliament by, I believe, your good self. The ECOWAS Community Parliament convened to sit in Port Harcourt in the River State of Nigeria from the 25th to the 28th of September 2025,” he said.

Ayariga continued, “Our Parliament’s delegation, as constituted by our resolution, went to Port Harcourt and found the Honorable Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin sitting there, refusing to give way as directed by this Parliament.”

The Bawku Central lawmaker added that when it was time for the new delegation to be sworn in, the ECOWAS Parliament initially refused to do so, citing the conduct of Afenyo-Markin as disobedience to the order.

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He noted, however, that four members of the delegation were eventually sworn in.

“Indeed, whilst our nominated delegation was there and it was time to swear in members, the ECOWAS Parliament refused to swear in Ghana’s delegation. They refused to swear in Ghana's delegation and said that they will not (sic) …. They caved in and swore in four members of our delegation. Mr Speaker Afenyo-Markin was at that session of the ECOWAS Parliament, attended the session of the ECOWAS Parliament in clear defiance of a resolution of this Parliament,” he shared.

The Majority Leader, Hon. Mahama Ayariga disclosed that the ECOWAS Parliament declined to swear in Ghana’s delegation after Minority Leader Hon. Afenyo-Markin, whom they met there in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, refused to allow the ceremony to proceed because his name had been… pic.twitter.com/Yl1PuSsTFu

— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) November 11, 2025