Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has stated that some of the guests who accompanied ministerial nominees were forced to sleep on the premises of Parliament House following the chaotic scenes that erupted during the vetting of some ministerial nominees on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
According to him, this situation arose because of the inability of the Appointments Committee of Parliament to vet all the nominees due to the chaos that erupted.
Appearing before the committee set up to investigate the ministerial vetting chaos on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, he described the incident as unfortunate.
“It was a very difficult situation. I can tell you that some of the invitees slept in open spaces around Parliament on that day. Some colleagues had to beg others to allow their guests to sleep in their offices because the numbers were such that they could not afford hotels for them.
“I saw some of them entering bathrooms or washrooms in the morning. This was something the committee leadership should have considered ahead of time, as these people were already here. At one point, I approached the leadership and mentioned that I knew of a nominee who had nearly a hundred opinion leaders and chiefs already on the compound at the time. They were told they couldn’t be vetted, Sadly, I can tell you that some of them slept here,” he stated.
Background
The altercation stemmed from the vetting of Minister of Health-designate, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs-designate, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
The Minority Caucus accused the Majority Caucus of violating an agreement to vet only four nominees for the day, leading to heated exchanges.
Tensions quickly escalated into physical confrontations, resulting in the destruction of microphones and furniture, and the overturning of the vetting table.
In response to the chaos, Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, suspended four Members of Parliament for two weeks, they are Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP), Nsawam-Adoagyiri); Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (NDC, South Dayi); Alhassan Tampuli (NPP, Gushegu); and Jerry Ahmed Shaib (NPP, Weija-Gbawe)
The Speaker, however, on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, lifted the suspension of the MPs.
Meanwhile, a seven-member parliamentary committee, chaired by Ho West MP, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, has commenced public hearings to investigate the misconduct of the MPs during the vetting session conducted by the Appointments Committee.
The committee is expected to bring transparency to the events that unfolded during the vetting process.
JKB/AE
Meanwhile, watch as Special Committee investigates chaos at Appointments Committee below: