The Majority Chief Whip of Ghana’s Parliament, Nelson-Rockson Dafeamekpor, has accepted responsibility for the disruption that occurred during the Appointments Committee’s vetting of ministerial nominees on 30 January.
The session descended into chaos as majority and minority MPs clashed, leading to the destruction of public property.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has since set up an investigative committee to examine the incident.
“I take responsibility, so when my punishment came, I took it in good faith,” Mr Dafeamekpor told the committee probing the events on 10 February.
While some MPs disagreed with the disciplinary measures imposed, he insisted that leadership must be held accountable when things go wrong.
Reflecting on the situation, Mr Dafeamekpor said the failure of consensus-building was a key turning point.
“If my counterparts were not minded to insist on their modus operandi for that day, we wouldn’t have experienced that,” he said, blaming the escalation on some MPs who disrupted proceedings.
He described how the situation deteriorated as tables and chairs were raised, making it impossible to restore order.
“Once they decided to disrupt, raise tables, raise chairs, what can I do? What could I have done?” he questioned.
Mr Dafeamekpor acknowledged that the events could have been better managed and hinted at the need for reforms to prevent future disruptions.
“A lot of things ought to be streamlined,” he said.
The investigative committee is expected to make recommendations on how to improve parliamentary proceedings and avoid similar incidents in the future.
