IMMn a significant turn of events on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, formally retracted and apologized to the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, regarding allegations of fraud in the ongoing security service recruitment process.
The apology followed a directive from the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, who had referred the Minority Leader to the Privileges Committee on grounds of contempt after the Interior Minister complained that the claims were baseless and damaging to his reputation.
The controversy stemmed from earlier assertions by Mr. Afenyo-Markin that the involvement of a third-party IT firm in the recruitment exercise amounted to a scam and placed an undue financial burden on unsuspecting applicants.
Seeking to clear the air and resolve the tension within the House, the Minority Leader stated, “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not do that to hurt him or tarnish his reputation, and if the text of my concern reflected so, it is hereby accordingly withdrawn.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.”
Accepting the apology, Mr. Muntaka expressed the deep emotional toll the accusations had taken on him, noting the gravity of being labeled with wrongdoing while performing his official duties.
He remarked, “It is painful to be wrongly accused and be labeled differently from the intention that you have, especially when it is connected with heavy wrongdoing. I am heavily hurt and heavily worried, but who am I to say that I will not accept when my colleague comes to apologize? I accept it wholeheartedly.”
In a move to fully restore his professional standing and ensure the harmony of the House, the Interior Minister further appealed to the Speaker to have the entire matter removed from the official archives of Parliament.
“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 Interior Minister said.
This gesture of reconciliation marks a definitive end to the brief but heated dispute between the two high-ranking legislators.
Source: Felix Nyaaba//expressnewsghana.com