The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has cited the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, for contempt of Parliament. He has requested the Speaker to refer Afenyo-Markin to the Privileges Committee for possible sanctions if he is found guilty of violating a resolution passed by the House.
Ayariga stated that Afenyo-Markin disregarded the resolution to remove his name from Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament in Port Harcourt. Despite this resolution, Afenyo-Markin attended a session at the ECOWAS Parliament, which Ayariga deemed as contempt of Parliament and a violation of parliamentary privileges.
Ayariga referred to Order 31 (o), which stipulates that any act or omission that affronts the dignity or authority of Parliament constitutes contempt and a breach of parliamentary privilege. He urged the Speaker to take appropriate action in response to this situation.
In a formal complaint made to the Speaker at Tuesday’s proceedings, Mr Ayariga, who is the Leader of Government Business in the House said by defying Parliament’s resolution in removing him from the delegation to the ECOWAS parliament, and actually going to Port Harcourt and attending the session Afenyo-Markin has clearly, affronted the dignity and engaged in an act that constitutes an affront to the authority of Parliament and it was therefore time that Afenyo-Markin be put in his proper place.
Resolution
Citing Order 31 (o), which specifically dealt with acts or conduct that constituted contempt of Parliament or breach of parliamentary privilege, the Majority Leader said somewhere on July 22, 2025, the House passed a resolution constituting the delegation of Ghana to the ECOWAS Parliament. He recalled that the House had removed the name of the Minority Leader from the list of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament. The Leader said the resolution of Parliament was communicated to the ECOWAS Parliament by the Speaker himself.
Appearance He told the House that the ECOWAS Parliament convened to sit in Port Harcourt in Nigeria from September 25 to 28, 2025.
Mr Ayariga said Ghana’s Parliamentary delegation, as constituted by the House’s resolution, went to Port Harcourt and they met Mr Afenyo-Makin “sitting there and refusing to give way as directed by this Parliament”. “Indeed, while our nominated delegation was there and it was time to swear in members, the ECOWAS Parliament refused to swear in members. “They refused to swear in Ghana’s delegation and said that they will not allow Ghana’s delegation to be sworn in because this Parliament had removed the name of Honourable Afenyo-Markin,” he said.
Intervening, Mr Ayariga said he threatened the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament that “if my delegation returned to Ghana without being sworn in, she will receive a resolution of the Parliament of Ghana directing Ghana to withdraw from ECOWAS itself”. He said it was based on his threat that the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament caved in and swore in four members of Ghana’s delegation. The Leader of Government Business said the Minority Leader was at that session of the ECOWAS Parliament where he attended the session in “clear defiance of a resolution of this Parliament”.
Speaker’s decision on Wednesday
Responding, the Speaker said the rules concerning contempt were very clear.
He, however, said he had to return to the House as to what his view on the matter was, “before I decide whether to refer it to the committee or not to refer to the committee”.
“So I have that decision to make and I need to consider it before I do so. So I will take the whole of today to consider the complaints and tomorrow I will then communicate my decision to the House,” he said.
Source: Nana Konadu Agyeman
