Deputy Minority Leader and Asokwa MP, Patricia Appiagyei, has accused the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, of orchestrating a politically motivated witch-hunt aimed at undermining Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin in the ongoing ECOWAS delegation controversy.
Addressing journalists in Parliament on Friday, November 28, 2025, Appiagyei described the Speaker’s referral of Afenyo-Markin to the Privileges Committee as a cynical, constitutionally offensive and vindictive act disguised as parliamentary procedure.
The dispute stems from Ghana’s ECOWAS Parliament delegation list. Appiagyei alleged that Ayariga covertly removed Afenyo-Markin from the delegation and inserted her name without her knowledge.
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According to her, the move was sinister and unlawful, intended to create confusion within the Minority Caucus. She said she swiftly rejected the nomination, formally notifying the Speaker that she neither sought nor accepted the position.
“I was neither consulted nor did I approve being placed on the ECOWAS delegation. This appears to be a calculated scheme to sow division between my leader and me,” she stated.
Despite her objections, the Speaker reportedly transmitted her name to the ECOWAS Parliament. Appiagyei described this as an abuse of office and a betrayal of due parliamentary process.
“This is not parliamentary procedure; it is parliamentary authoritarianism, this is a witch-hunt,” she fired.
Her claims were reinforced, she said, when ECOWAS later wrote to Ghana’s Parliament on September 8, 2025, signalling concern over the breach of Article 18 of the Supplementary Act governing membership of the regional legislature. ECOWAS subsequently dispatched a parliamentary diplomacy mission to Accra, an episode she described as an “international embarrassment” for Ghana.
Appiagyei further accused Mahama Ayariga of seeking revenge by petitioning the Speaker to drag Afenyo-Markin before the Privileges Committee, a move she insists was triggered by the Minority Leader’s earlier disclosure of alleged government attempts to rush the vetting of Chief Justice nominee Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
“This is not oversight. This is vindictive persecution,” she stressed, adding that the Speaker’s willingness to entertain the petition amounted to complicity.
Defending Afenyo-Markin’s continued engagement with the ECOWAS Parliament despite the controversy, she alleged an orchestrated effort to intimidate him and destabilise the Minority Caucus.
The Deputy Minority Leader outlined a series of demands, including:
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withdrawal of the Privileges Committee petition,
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a public apology to ECOWAS and the Ghanaian public,
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full restoration of Afenyo-Markin to the ECOWAS delegation,
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an end to what she described as political harassment, and
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prosecution of Sofo Azorka over alleged threats.
Appiagyei vowed that the Minority Caucus would fiercely resist any attempt to undermine its leadership or Ghana’s democratic processes.
“We will defend the rule of law and uphold the Constitution. We will defend our leader, defend democracy, and ensure those who abuse power are held accountable,” she declared.