Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has retracted controversial age-related comments he made on the floor of Parliament on March 11, 2024, against Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the running mate of National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Mahama.
During his final submissions on the State of the Nation (SONA) debate, Afenyo-Markin criticized the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), accusing them of lacking plans for Ghana’s future.
He cited the party’s selection of septuagenarian Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as running mate to former President John Mahama as evidence for his claim, adding that the former education minister failed in that role.
“Even if you look at his choice of running mate, he could not get somebody that one could say that they are planning for the future. The person is over 70 years old.
“There is no succession plan. Mr. Speaker, from day one, the government will be in crisis. Mr Speaker, they went to pick a very old person who could not perform at the Education Ministry,” Afenyo-Markin said before the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, rose to issue a spirited rebuttal to the Majority Leader.
Following the comments, sitting was suspended after NDC MPs demanded a withdrawal and apology from the Majority Leader. Afenyo-Markin has since rendered an apology for his remarks.
When the House resumed, he issued the said withdrawal, stating: “When we went into conclave, colleagues expressed concern about the issue of age, so Mr. Speaker, the submission was to the effect that our opponents don’t have a succession plan for the future, not to denigrate their running mate on the basis of age.
“So, I withdraw that aspect of the submission that referred to her age as the basis of my contention,” he added before continuing with his concluding remarks on the SONA debate.