The ongoing tensions over the vetting of ministerial nominees have prompted the minority in parliament to warn that the majority will not frighten them.
Following tumultuous scenes during the Appointments Committee meeting on Thursday, January 30, a heated impasse between the House’s two factions resulted from scheduling disputes.
On Friday, January 31, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin told reporters that the Majority was repressing dissenting opinions by intimidating them.
“We are few, but we are a mighty few. We are firm in our conviction and determined, and we shall never surrender to intimidation. Yesterday, we faced verbal attacks, and it took the vigilance of the police to escort us out of the chamber,” Afenyo-Markin stated.
Concerns about what they called a disdain for pre-sitting agreements regarding the amount of ministerial nominees slated to appear before the committee were also voiced by the Minority.
“We commend the police for ensuring law and order, and we urge them to continue their work impartially. However, we are concerned that the Majority ignored prior agreements on the number of nominees to be vetted in a single sitting,” he added.
The Minority’s proposal to move the screening process to Friday, January 31, citing procedural issues and the necessity for careful examination of nominees, caused tensions to rise.
The majority, however, rejected the plea, arguing that the vetting process should go according to schedule.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Joseph Asare