Mr Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, the Majority Leader, has received a backlash from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority over his remarks that Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the running-mate of the NDC’s flagbearer, is over 70 years old.
Mr Afenyo-Markin, in his submission during the conclusion of the Parliamentary debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, said selecting Prof Opoku-Agyemang as the running- mate was a wrong choice.
This drew a strong protest from the NDC Minority, which led to heckling and banging of tables.
‘Mr Speaker, it is the same old NDC. It is the same old John Mahama…. Even if you look at his choice of running mate, he could not get somebody that one could say that oh they are planning for the future,’ he said.
‘The person is over 70 years, they have no succession plan. Mr Speaker, from day one, their government will be in crisis. Mr Speaker, they went to pick the very old person who could not perform at the Education Ministry.’
‘The flagbearer
, constitutionally has just one term. Should that happen, the flagbearer has chosen a running mate, Mr Speaker. Under normal circumstances, they should have given us a running mate who can offer a future to Ghana.’
These, among other comments Mr Afenyo-Markin made, which the Minority Caucus considered as distasteful, brought Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minority Whip and MP for Banda, to his feet, who demanded a retraction of those comments and apology by the Majority Leader to Prof Opoku-Agyemang.
Mr Ibrahim argued that Prof Opoku-Agyemang was not in the House to respond to the allegations leveled against her.
In the midst of the banging of tables and shouts of ‘you must withdraw and apologise’, Mr Andrew Amoako Asiamah, the Second Deputy Speaker, presiding, suspended sitting for one hour.
The House later resumed for Mr Afenyo-Markin to conclude his remarks on the SONA.
Source: Ghana News Agency
The Black Satellites of Ghana recorded their first in the men’s football competition at the ongoing African Games.
The win for the Black Satellites puts Ghana’s U-20 football team on the verge of qualification for the next round, as they now top Group A with four points.
The other group encounter between Benin and Congo ended in a scoreless stalemate, with both having accumulated two points each from the first two matches while Gambia is rock bottom with a point.
Black Satellites talisman Musibau Aziz put Ghana ahead in the 13th minute with a superb strike to ease the nerves of the home supporters.
The Black Satellites, despite their dominance in the first half, couldn’t capitalise on the numerous opportunities that fell for them but maintained their lead into halftime.
Abdul Aziz Issah doubled the lead for Ghana in the early stages of the second half with a cool, composed finish from close range, much to the delight of the fans at Accra Sports Stadium.
Musibau Aziz had a great opportunity to make it th
ree for the host after the referee awarded them a penalty, but the prodigy missed from 12 yards.
Things became a little nerve-wracking for the host country after Gambia pulled a goal back through Ebima Ceesay in the 83rd minute.
But substitute Jerry Afriyie ensured Ghana secured all three points after he delivered a stunning strike on the 90th minute mark.
Ghana would face Benin in their last group encounter as a win or draw would secure a spot in the next round of the competition.
Our coverage of the 13th African Games is brought to you by Bethel Logistics Co. Ltd experts in Shipping Logistics.
Source: Ghana News Agency