Afenyo-Markin withdraws comment on Prof Opoku-Agyemang

The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has withdrawn remarks he made about the NDC’s running mate, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, during his debate on the State of the Nation address.

The Minority caucus was incensed by the Majority Leader’s assertion that the selection of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, a woman in her 70s, as the NDC’s running mate, indicates a lack of succession planning and visionary leadership within the NDC.

The Majority Leader’s initial refusal to retract his comment as requested by the minority caucus led to a disruption in the debate, resulting in the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, suspending the house’s proceedings.

Upon retracting his comment, Mr Afenyo-Markin stated, “Colleagues expressed a concern about the issue of age. Mr Speaker, the submission was to the effect that our opponents don’t have a clear succession plan for the future not to denigrate their running mate based on age.

“So I withdraw that aspect of the submission that referred to her age as the basis of my contention.”