Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has rejected claims that he described presidential staffer Nana Yaa Akyenpim Jantuah as a “nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) presentation of its petition at the Jubilee House.

Mr Afenyo-Markin said his comments were not intended to question Ms Jantuah’s qualifications or personal standing but were directed at the decision to have her alone receive the NPP’s petition.

His response follows a public complaint by Ms Jantuah, who said she was deeply disappointed by what she considered a disrespectful remark made by the Minority Leader in the presence of the media and other political officials.

Ms Jantuah, speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen on Thursday, August 6, said she was shocked that Mr Afenyo-Markin would refer to her as a “nobody” during such a public event.

• READ ALSO: I’m older than him; he has no right to imply that I’m a nobody – Nana Yaa Jantuah hits back at Afenyo-Markin

“I’m so mortified that you could stand there and look in the face of a woman and tell that woman she is nobody. I just cannot comprehend what happened,” she said.

She further argued that the comment was not only personally offensive but also undermined the office she represented at the time she was assigned to receive the NPP’s petition.

Mr Afenyo-Markin, however, has disputed that interpretation of his remarks, insisting that he never suggested that Ms Jantuah was unqualified to receive the petition.

“My friends in the NDC, they can do their mischief and get people to believe in their mischief,” he said.

Speaking on Accra-based Metro TV, the Minority Leader said his objection was specifically about the decision to designate only Ms Jantuah to receive the petition.

“I wasn’t saying that she does not qualify. I said ‘to nominate only you’ and I underscored it by saying that with great deference, great respect,” he explained.

He stressed that he deliberately used respectful language during the exchange and repeated his expression of deference to Ms Jantuah.

According to him, his position should not be interpreted as a personal attack on the presidential staffer.

“I am not perfect, but I am also equally aware of my environment. I don’t go out to be attacking or disrespecting people,” Mr Afenyo-Markin said.

• READ ALSO: I wouldn’t be hurt if Afenyo-Markin’s ‘disrespectful’ comment was made privately – Nana Yaa Jantuah

He also declined to engage further in the dispute, suggesting that the controversy was being promoted by political actors seeking to shift attention away from the NPP’s demonstration.

“I won’t respond to her,” he said.

Mr Afenyo-Markin accused elements within the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) of using what he described as a “spinning machinery” to change the narrative surrounding the NPP’s protest.

“I think that they had their own spinning machinery, they wanted to spin something to take away the shine from the day,” he said.

The Minority Leader argued that the focus should instead remain on the NPP’s demonstration, which he described as peaceful and well attended.

• READ ALSO: Nana Yaa Jantuah to petition Speaker over ‘nobody’ remark by Afenyo-Markin

He said the party had presented what it considered clearly articulated concerns through the protest and the subsequent petitions, and did not want the disagreement over his exchange with Ms Jantuah to dominate public discussion.

“That a peaceful demonstration, issues well articulated, massive turnout…” he said, highlighting what he considered the key features of the event.

Mr Afenyo-Markin maintained that he was familiar with political tactics and would not allow the controversy to distract him from the issues the NPP had raised.

“I am not going to respond to their agenda. I am old enough in this game, so I understand this game,” he added.