How Speaker suspended sitting over Afenyo-Markin’s attack on Prof Opoku-Agyemang

Parliament's debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) was suspended for an hour on March 11 due to rising tensions over a statement by the Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin.

His reference to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) running mate, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemeng as an old person who failed as education minister, did not sit well with the Minority Caucus; triggering a demand for a retraction and apology.

“Mr Speaker, it is the same old NDC. It is the same old John Mahama. Mr Speaker perish the thought, should he even get the opportunity, he has only four years constitutionally. Mr Speaker, there will be no sense of urgency in him because he has nothing to lose.

“Even if you look at his choice of running mate, he could not get somebody that one could say that they are planning for the future. The person is over 70 years old.

"There is no succession plan. Mr Speaker, from day one, the government will be in crisis. Mr Speaker, they went to pick a very old person who could not perform at the Education Ministry,” Afenyo-Markin said before the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, rose to issue a spirited rebuttal to the Majority Leader.

In the back and forth that ensued, MPs on the Minority bench stood up loudly, demanding a retraction and apology from Afenyo-Markin, hence disrupting whatever submissions he was making.

The Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, who was presiding eventually suspended sitting for an hour.


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