A photo collage of Mahama Ayariga and Alexander Afenyo-Markin
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, criticised the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, over what he described as hypocrisy regarding the presence of National Democratic Congress (NDC) National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, in the parliamentary chamber.
Speaking during proceedings on June 20, 2025, Mahama Ayariga accused Afenyo-Markin of welcoming the NDC Chairman into the chamber, only to later report his presence to the Speaker as a breach of parliamentary conduct.
“Mr Speaker, before Asiedu Nketiah entered the chamber, the leader himself [Afenyo-Markin] rose to receive him, hugged him, and welcomed him, but you see, this is a leader who wants to take the benefit and leave his backbenchers. When his backbenchers saw the opportunity to take photographs with the National Chairman of the NDC, he became aggrieved.”
Ayariga described Asiedu Nketiah as a familiar and respected figure in Parliament, having served multiple terms as a Member of Parliament, a member of the Parliamentary Service Board, and chair of the Human Resource Committee that oversaw staffing and promotions within Parliament.
“By virtue of that, he is entitled, once in a while, to pass by and see if everything is okay in the chamber including facilities he helped procure,” he added.
He further claimed that MPs from both sides of the House were excited to see the NDC Chairman, noting that “I saw NPP Members of Parliament struggling to take photographs with him. I saw it with my naked eyes.”
The Majority Leader emphasised that it is customary for prominent party officials, including the chairmen of both the NDC and the NPP, to be allowed into the chamber, especially during ceremonial events.
His comments came in response to a complaint by Minority Leader Afenyo-Markin, who had earlier reported to the Second Deputy Speaker. Andrews Asiamah Amoako who was presiding that Johnson Asiedu Nketiah’s actions amounted to political campaigning on the floor of Parliament.
According to Afenyo-Markin, the NDC Chairman entered the chamber during a brief suspension of proceedings and took photographs with 80 NDC MPs, an act he believes was intended to project broad internal party support for Nketiah’s bid to succeed President John Dramani Mahama.
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