Parliament has approved a reconstitution of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, replacing Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin with Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei.
Afenyo-Markin, who also served as Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, is expected to be succeeded in that role by Deputy Majority Leader George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan.
Ricketts-Hagan currently leads Ghana’s delegation to the West African legislative body.
The reshuffle has drawn criticism, particularly from the Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, who accused the Majority Caucus of acting unilaterally and failing to consult the Minority on the changes.
“The leadership should not be moving motions and asking the house to make decisions that they should be taking and bringing to us.
“I know it is the decision of the house to do it, but it is not for Parliament because the Majority has majority, to force the decision of the majority on the minority about representation,”
In response, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga defended the decision, noting that it aligns with parliamentary tradition, which typically assigns ECOWAS parliamentary roles to Deputy Leaders of the House.
