The Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, has strongly condemned the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, for referring the Minority Leader, Hon. Alex Afenyo-Markin, to the Privileges Committee. According to her, the Minority Caucus vehemently rejects the Speaker’s decision, describing it as not only unjustified but also a clear abuse of due process.
Hon. Appiagyei argued that the move to haul the Minority Leader before the committee amounts to an affront to natural justice, insisting that the Speaker acted in a manner that undermines established parliamentary conventions and fairness. She emphasized that the Minority Caucus views the referral as politically motivated and targeted at embarrassing the leadership of the caucus.
She further disclosed that the Minority is demanding a public apology from both the Speaker of Parliament and the Majority Leader, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, to the ECOWAS Parliament. According to her, the treatment meted out to Hon. Afenyo-Markin—who was attending official ECOWAS Parliamentary proceedings—was disrespectful and cast Ghana’s Parliament in a negative light before the sub-regional legislative body.
Hon. Appiagyei stressed that the Minority Leader’s participation in the ECOWAS Parliamentary meeting was legitimate, sanctioned, and fully within the rules governing both the Parliament of Ghana and the ECOWAS legislature. She noted that Hon. Afenyo-Markin did not violate any procedural requirement and had acted in the interest of Ghana by honouring the country’s representation at the regional level.
Despite this, the Speaker referred Hon. Afenyo-Markin to the Privileges Committee on grounds that he allegedly disregarded Parliament by choosing to attend the ECOWAS meeting. The Minority, however, finds this reasoning flawed, especially given that he was officially delegated by Ghana’s Parliament to attend the session in September 2025.
Hon. Appiagyei added that the Speaker’s action not only undermines the integrity of the Minority Leader but also tarnishes Ghana’s image within the African parliamentary community, portraying the nation as one that disregards its own commitments to regional institutions.
