A witness captured on video during the vetting chaos has explained that his presence at the center of the disturbance was an attempt to restore order when tensions erupted on January 30 during the Appointments Committee’s proceedings.
“I saw a riot and my civic duty was to bring calmness,” George Opeku Glory told members of the ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the incident.
However, the committee who described Opeku as a ‘stranger’ held the view that he had no business stepping into that unsolicited action to maintain the so-called order in the precincts of parliament as an ordinary citizen.
But the witness who won’t budge and rejected the position of the ad-hoc committee on the action he took, said he ought to be rewarded as a concerned citizen instead of being condemned by the committee regarding his action.
George Opeku, a spectator, said he particularly attended the vetting committee session on January 30, because he had a ‘vested interest’ in the proceedings as a businessman. He told the Ad-hoc committee that he also attended partly to offer moral support to the Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Minister of Communications, Sam George.
The chaos on January 30 stemmed from a disagreement between the minority and majority members of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, responsible for vetting ministerial nominees of the new government.
Tensions escalated when the minority expressed fatigue and proposed postponing the vetting process. However, the majority opposed the request, arguing that an earlier agreement had been reached to complete the vetting that same day.
What began as a disagreement quickly turned into a physical altercation, leading to the destruction of tables, chairs, and microphones in the vetting room.
The Ad-hoc committee will compile evidence from the public hearing and submit its findings to Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who will determine the next course of action.
Meanwhile, the minority boycotted the committee’s hearing last Friday and has petitioned the Speaker, accusing the committee chair of bias and calling for his recusal from the process.
