Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has formally admitted a contempt application against Minority Leader and MP for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, and referred the matter to the Privileges Committee of Parliament for investigation and report.
The decision was announced by the Speaker while presiding over Thursday’s sitting of the House.
“I refer the complaint against the Minority Leader to the Privileges Committee and [direct it to] report to the House,” Mr Bagbin ruled, adding that the Committee must handle the matter “with decorum and impartiality.”
He further cautioned Members of Parliament against making public comments on the issue while it remains under consideration, stressing the need for restraint and respect for due process.
The contempt application was in a petition filed on November 11, 2025, by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga.
Mr Ayariga accused Mr Afenyo-Markin of deliberately defying a resolution of Parliament that removed him from Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.
According to the petition, Mr Afenyo-Markin travelled to Port Harcourt, Nigeria, and presented himself for swearing-in despite having been officially replaced on the delegation.
The action, Mr Ayariga contended, caused embarrassment to Ghana as the ECOWAS Parliament initially refused to swear in the entire Ghanaian delegation until the matter was resolved. The impasse was only broken after Ghana threatened to withdraw its delegation completely.
Describing the Minority Leader’s conduct as a breach of privilege and contempt of Parliament, Mr Ayariga urged the Speaker to invoke the disciplinary powers of the House.
With the Speaker’s ruling on Thursday, the Privileges Committee is now seized with the matter and is expected to investigate the allegations and submit its findings and recommendations to the House in due course.