Parliament turned chaotic on Thursday as Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga exposed the Minority Leader’s claim that the Majority skipped the Requiem Mass for former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings as a mischievous attempt to politically ‘bury’ them in an ant hill.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin accused the Majority and the government of failing to show up at the Requiem Mass of the late former First Lady at the Ridge Church on Wednesday.
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This followed an appeal by the Majority Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, to members to attend in their numbers the state funeral for the former First Lady at the Independence Square on Friday.
No majority member at Requiem Mass
Afenyo-Markin lamented that not a single member of the Majority or any government official showed up at the solemn ceremony at the Ridge Church, despite the deceased being the mother of their colleague MP, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.
He declared, “Mr. Speaker, the Chief Whip of the Majority side is urging us to ensure we attend Her Excellency Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ funeral program tomorrow. But, Mr. Speaker, regrettably, yesterday at the Requiem Mass at Ridge Church, not a single member of the Majority side showed up. The daughter, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, is our colleague. We again did not see any government official.”
“So, Mr. Speaker, if he is urging upon us that all of us must be here early enough to attend, then I would appeal to him: he should encourage his side, as well as members of government, to all be in attendance. Because yesterday at the Requiem Mass, the absence from the government side was quite disappointing.”
However, before the echoes of his accusation faded, Hon. Ayariga rose and, in a response that shocked the Chamber, insisted the Minority Leader, himself, did not attend the Mass.
“Mr. Speaker, I was there,” Ayariga said firmly, pausing for effect. “I was at the Mass at the Ridge Church. I was there before the clergy even processed into the church.”
“The Honourable Afenyo-Markin was not there,” he revealed.
He added that he attended the service in the company of the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), rubbishing claims that the Majority abandoned the solemn ceremony.
“It is not the case that this side of the House abandoned the Mass. Tomorrow, we will be there in our numbers for the state funeral,” he added.
The dramatic revelation left the Minority leader looking sheepishly in what is described as a classic case of Ghanaian political ‘wele’ chewing.