Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament (MP) for Asokwa, Patricia Appiagyei, has launched a blistering attack on the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin, accusing him of presiding over what she describes as the most cynical and constitutionally perverse scheme ever orchestrated in Ghana’s Parliament.
She condemned the Speaker’s decision to refer Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin to the Privileges Committee, labelling the move as vindictive persecution disguised as parliamentary procedure.
The controversy revolves around the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga’s decision on 22 July 2025 to amend Ghana’s ECOWAS Parliament delegation list while the Minority Leader was reportedly unwell.
According to Appiagyei, the Majority Leader’s move was stealthy and sinister, designed to unlawfully remove Afenyo-Markin and replace him with her without her knowledge or consent.
Speaking at a press conference in Parliament on Friday, November 28, 2025, Hon. Appiagyei stated that she immediately rejected the move, writing to the Speaker the same day: “I was neither consulted nor did I give my consent… This development appears to be a calculated effort to cause division between my leader and me.”
The Asokwa MP accused Speaker Bagbin of acting dishonestly and abusing his office after he ignored her objections and nonetheless forwarded her name to the ECOWAS Parliament.
“This is not parliamentary procedure. This is a parliamentary dictatorship,” she declared.
She added that despite her written refusal, Hon. Alban Bagbin sent an official communication to ECOWAS affirming her as a nominee, a decision ECOWAS later rebuked as inconsistent with Article 18 of the Supplementary Act governing regional parliamentary membership.
Appiagyei revealed that ECOWAS formally wrote to Ghana’s Parliament on 8 September 2025, announcing a parliamentary diplomacy mission to address what it described as a violation of its treaty obligations.
According to her, Ghana was internationally humiliated as the regional body underscored the illegality of the Speaker and Majority Leader’s actions.
The Deputy Minority Leader argued that Ayariga’s petition to refer Afenyo-Markin to the Privileges Committee was retaliatory, coming just a day after the Minority Leader exposed the government’s alleged attempt to force through the vetting of Chief Justice nominee Paul Baffoe-Bonnie.
“This is not oversight. This is vindictive persecution,” she said.
She accused the Speaker of complicity for entertaining the petition, insisting that this is not leadership but complicity.
The Deputy Minority leader defended Afenyo-Markin’s decision to continue functioning within the ECOWAS Parliament despite his name being removed, and alleged a coordinated campaign to intimidate the Minority Leader.
The Deputy Minority Leader listed several demands and warned that the caucus will resist such maneuvering and defend Ghana’s democracy.
The demands include withdrawal of the Privileges Committee petition; a public apology to ECOWAS and Ghanaians; restoration of Afenyo-Markin’s name to the ECOWAS delegation; an end to political persecution; and prosecution of Sofo Azorka for alleged threats
“We shall defend the rule of law; we shall uphold and defend the Constitution. We will defend him, we will defend Ghana’s democracy, and we will not rest until those who abuse their power are held to account,” she declared.
