The clerk to Ghana’s Appointments Committee, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, has revealed that she left a tense ministerial vetting session on 30 January 2025 after receiving a direct order from her husband.
The hearing, which saw sharp divisions between the majority and minority in Parliament, turned chaotic over the nominations of Kwabena Mintah Akandoh as Minister for Health and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Appearing before a Special Committee set up by Speaker Alban Bagbin, Jiagge-Gobah recounted the intense pressure she faced from both sides of the chamber.
“The majority kept screaming at me to administer the oath to the nominee, while the minority opposed it. The situation was so heated that I started fanning myself and took a seat,” she told the committee.
She further revealed that at the height of the tensions, she received multiple calls and a message from her husband instructing her to leave immediately. “I took that order, and I left through another door,” she said.
Apology and Parliamentary Tensions
Meanwhile, Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has apologised to Jiagge-Gobah for comments he made during the session, in which he accused her of bias and procedural lapses. His remarks had sparked calls for her resignation.
Following an appeal by Adaklu MP and Roads Minister Governs Kwame Agbodza, Afenyo-Markin admitted that frustration led to his outburst and expressed regret.
The incident has reignited debates over parliamentary decorum and the neutrality of clerks in Ghana’s ministerial vetting process.
