Hon Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin
Effutu

Mr Speaker, the man, Mahama Ayariga, is making his name in the politics of our country. He is exemplary and must be commended.

Mr Speaker, I have not slept on this matter. He was taken to the south and I was taken to the north gate to ensure that this matter was resolved. What he has done today reminds me of what the Attorney-General did in 2015. In 2015, as a practitioner, I was all over the place, and I recall some outliners had urged upon him that I was making so much money from practice, so he should get me prosecuted on some tax offences. But after the state had raided my office, he stood his grounds. He did not tell me, but someone said that the Deputy Attorney General said no way, they should not invade my law firm again. And till date, he is the only person I have a picture with in my office to celebrate that moment where he felt that an opponent should not be a target, and we maintained a good friendship ever since.

Mr Speaker, indeed, all that he has done demonstrates sincerity. We are a political class; that is the path we have chosen. We are not to cover crime, but we must protect each other for the good of democracy. Mr Speaker, Ghanaians have told us something, that when they are fed up with one, they are fed up. In the 2000 elections, after Kufuor won, some of us, as student leaders, thought that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would never come into office again because it was so devastating. But within eight years, Ghanaians were already fed up with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Administration and they got the nod. Fast forward to 2016, when we had 169 seats, we thought it was all over for NDC, and in less than four years, the seats reduced to 137; we had to eat a humble pie.

As I always quote, the French man said, c’est la vie, this is life. Mr Speaker, indeed, today, I am leading a mighty few—[Laughter]—and Hon Ayariga, in the ECOWAS Parliament, is known as a sincere partner when it comes to resolving conflict, and he has demonstrated it here. So, my respected Leader, I want to assure you that our Side would engage you constructively. Let us do the politics in a very decent way. Let us respect each other; let us use words that are complementary, and hold those who are at the lowest ebb, up, and bring them up. If somebody makes a mistake, we can go to the person and say they could do it better.

If somebody does it well, compliment them; let us celebrate each other. In the end, our principle would remain. I am a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), proudly so; another Hon Member is a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), proudly so. Do not let us use this platform to denigrate even our leaders. Sometimes, the little said about the way we go after our leaders, the better. We use unprintable words. And let me caution all of us, the 2024 elections, check the percentage turn out. In the Central Region, we did not go beyond 60 per cent. In the Volta Region, it was around the same figures; it was the same in the Ashanti, Upper East and Upper West Regions. In the mighty Greater Accra where all the politics are done, find out the percentage turn out. What it means is that a percentage of our population is getting fed up with the political class because of our conduct.

Mr Speaker, some few days ago, I was scolded about why was I apologising. I said, “When one needs to correct the wrong, one should swallow his or her ego.” At least, that was what I have been taught. It does not matter, and if the whole Majority Leader, on behalf of Government, is apologising to an individual, we must celebrate him. I would want to encourage our state institutions, especially those public servants who try to prove something to the new political master when they see a change of government. I have been working with them so I know. Some of them are changing the Whatsapp statuses and their display pictures (DP); we see it all. They should be careful. At least today, the Majority Leader has made it clear that they cannot act in the name of the Government and go scot-free. If there is anything against any past government official, due process must be followed and I am sure all of us would have peace.

My respected Colleague, extend to His Excellency, the President of the Republic, the assurances of the Minority that with this, we would also accord him every courtesy due him as President of the Republic. We would corporate and oppose, when we have to oppose; after all, our duty is to oppose the Majority Side. We can work together as a people to represent our people, and for our people to learn from us and to teach us, to train us, and to help us to advance this democracy.

Mr Speaker, I want to conclude by saying that I had an extensive engagement with Mr Ken Ofori-Atta this morning. He is traumatised by the labelling of this adjective to his person, but he still knows that his God is with him. He is undergoing some medical procedure. In fact, I had an early morning engagement with the Chief of Staff who confirmed that indeed, Mr Ken OforiAtta wrote to him and he is in receipt of the letter. He was very sincere in telling me that. So, within reasonable time, I am sure he would come.

I would also engage the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) constructively, and assure him and his office that if there was any miscommunication, I as a leader of my Side, is assuring him that the man would make himself available. He left the country with permission, and if there is anything that has to be investigated, he would make himself available. It is not easy to serve one’s country, and I am sure all shall be well for the good of us all.

Mr Speaker, I thank you so much for this opportunity and once again, I thank the Majority Leader.