The Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, has taken a swipe at Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, reminding him that he is no longer in the Majority and must adjust accordingly.

Speaking on PM Express on Monday, February 3, the First Deputy Speaker expressed frustration over the Effutu MP’s approach to leadership, accusing him of contradicting previously agreed-upon decisions.

“I have a very good relationship with him, but sometimes I find it very difficult to take the excess,” he said.

“I am one particular person who will not agree on something with you and, after a few minutes or hours, behave as if that was not what we agreed upon. It pisses me off.”

He refuted Afenyo-Markin’s claims that the Clerk of the Appointments Committee had withheld reports from him, stating that the Minority Leader had always been furnished with the necessary documents.

“There is nothing that the Clerk of the Committee has put out there that we have not agreed upon. There is no occasion where the Clerk will not give me and the Minority Leader a draft report,” Mr Ahiafor explained.

“Even if you go back and recap, there are instances where the two of us would be sitting down there, and the Clerk would hold two reports—give me one and give him one—in the full glare of the camera.”

Bernard Ahiafor suggested that Mr Afenyo-Markin’s current struggles stem from an inability to fully embrace his new role as a Minority Leader.

“It’s about time for him to realize that he is no longer the Majority Leader, but he’s a Minority Leader,” he stated.

“He can use any adjectives to describe himself—‘mighty and happy Minority’—but for me, he is still a Minority.”

The Appointments Committee Chairman clarified that the Clerk takes directives from the Chairman of the Committee, not the Ranking Member, which may be why Mr Afenyo-Markin feels sidelined.

“The Clerk of the Committee does not take decisions from the Ranking Member. They take decisions from the Chairman of the Committee,” Mr Ahiafor stated.

“That is why their letters mostly read, ‘I have been directed by the Chairman of the Committee,’ not the Ranking Member. But because he’s coming from the Majority point of view, sometimes I believe he forgets himself.”