Deputy Chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, Alexander Afenyo Markin says Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa’s decision to resign from the committee was not properly thought through by the North Tongu legislator.
Mr. Ablakwa communicated his resignation from the Committee in a letter addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin in a manner that some have described as irregular.
Without stating any specific reasons, Mr. Ablakwa attributed the move to personal reasons and principles.
Some have interpreted his move as a vote of no confidence in the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.
But commenting on the matter, Mr. Afenyo Markin said the mode of resignation was unfortunate.
“I think that with the experience Mr. Ablakwa has, he should have chosen another route because I think he has miscalculated [his decision]. What happens to him if he becomes a leader someday and his members decide to break ranks. We have a system that when you disagree, you use and move on. It is really some strange things we are seeing now. It is quite unfortunate.”
“I don’t disagree with an individual having a principle but marry it with the principle of the body you subscribe to be a member of. Your principle must interlock with the principle of the collective [good]. It is a constitutional imperative. A member of a committee can’t just get up and say I am resigning. You can do it, but these things are done with the leadership, so they can be resolved and handled. So it will be politically incorrect within the principle we work with”, he said on Eyewitness News.
On the issue of Bolga Central MP, Isaac Adongo, breaking ranks with the Minority caucus over Ken Ofori-Atta’s approval as Minister for Finance, Mr. Afenyo Markin said the action of the Member of the Finance Committee could have been handled much better.
“With Adongo, what he did amounted to political mischief. If he was serious about what he said in the media, he has every right to do so on the Floor of the house and use the system in Parliament to do so.”
Afenyo Markin, who is also the MP for Effutu said the current cracks in the Minority in Parliament is worrying and prays it is resolved as soon as possible.
“If you are not happy with your leader, and you want a leadership change, you find a better way of dealing with it. You don’t go public in an attempt to fight your own internal battle, you end up destroying the image of the very institution that you are part and parcel of. But this is politics, it is unfortunate, but I pray that as a party, they find a better way of resolving their own issues.”
