Minority leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has publicly withdrawn and apologised for comments he made about the ongoing security services recruitment process, which he earlier characterised as fraudulent.
The apology was delivered on the floor of the Parliament of Ghana on Wednesday, March 4, after his remarks sparked controversy and drew a formal complaint from the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka.
In a brief statement to the House, Afenyo-Markin said he did not intend to harm the Minister’s reputation and sought to set the record straight.
“Mr Speaker, I will not do that to hurt him or tarnish his reputation, and if the text of my concern reflected so, it is hereby accordingly withdrawn.
“I assure you that concerns that will arise out of any matter shall be properly brought to his attention,” he told lawmakers.
His earlier remarks had centred on what he described as “serious concerns” over the recruitment process and the alleged involvement of a third-party IT firm, suggesting it imposed an undue financial burden on applicants.
Those comments led to his referral to the Privileges Committee on grounds of contempt following a complaint from the Interior Minister.
In accepting the apology, Minister Muntaka said the allegations were deeply distressing given their serious nature.
“It is painful to be wrongly accused and be labelled differently from the intention that you have, especially when it is connected with heavy wrongdoing,” he said.
“I am heavily hurt and heavily worried, but who am I to say that I will not accept when my colleague comes to apologise? I accept it wholeheartedly.”
The Minister also appealed to the Speaker to have the matter expunged from parliamentary records, adding: “My plea is that, if it is possible, it should be expunged from our records so that it will be as though it never happened”.
The development effectively ended a parliamentary standoff that threatened to escalate after Afenyo-Markin’s initial comments about what he called irregularities and alleged extortion in the recruitment exercise.
