Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has strongly pushed back against what he describes as intimidation tactics by the NDC members on the Appointments Committee, following the chaotic scenes that erupted during Thursday evening’s vetting session.

Speaking after the disruptions, Afenyo-Markin defended the Minority’s stance, insisting that nothing would stop them from asking the “necessary questions” during the vetting process.

“You are aware that some of the nominees, we don’t even ask them questions. Where we have to ask the relevant questions, we ask. Nothing will stop us from asking the necessary questions,” he said.

He accused the Majority of attempting to intimidate the Minority, stating, “NDC is always out to intimidate people. Always bullying. They can call us a micro-minority. They can say whatever they want to say. We’ve been cooperating with them.”

According to Mr Afenyo-Markin, an agreement had been reached to vet three nominees, but the Minority later attempted to push for additional nominees without proper consensus.

“Today, we agreed to do three. The committee is on a partisan track. Indeed, she is a typical NDC. She agrees with them and then informs people to come,” he said, without naming names.

He accused the Majority of unilaterally making changes to the agreed vetting schedule, explaining that “all the practice has always been that the chairman and ranking member would agree as to who and who will come. Yesterday, there was no agreement. The chairman was with me, no meeting. Then at night, 10 p.m., the clerk advertised 10 this morning.”

He further noted that his deputy attended a pre-sitting meeting where both sides initially agreed to vet three nominees. However, the Minority allegedly kept shifting their position.

“They agreed to three. Later in the afternoon, they said four, and then again, said, ‘Oh, let’s compromise on one more.’ We said okay, they made it five.”

Despite these back-and-forth changes, Mr Afenyo-Markin claimed that the Majority had ulterior motives, hoping the Minority would walk out.

“Just as we finished the three, we realised that they had paraded several other nominees thinking that we would boycott. We will not boycott.”

His comments come in the wake of a heated session that saw tensions boil over, requiring police intervention to restore order.

The vetting process, which was expected to be routine, turned chaotic as members from both sides clashed over the number of nominees to be vetted.

With the ongoing disputes, it remains to be seen how the Appointments Committee will navigate the rest of the vetting process without further confrontations.