Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor
The Majority Chief Whip of Parliament, who doubles as the Member of Parliament of South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has accepted responsibility for the chaotic events that unfolded during the vetting process in Parliament on January 30.
He admitted his role in the disorder but emphasised that the lack of consensus-building was the root cause.
Speaking during the ad-hoc committee set up to investigate the incident, on Monday, February 10, 2025 he said “Well, not at all, I take responsibility, so when my punishment came, I took it in good faith.”
Dafeamekpor also acknowledged that while some colleagues felt the blame should not have fallen on him, he accepted that leadership must be held accountable.
“Others disagreed that if punishment were to be meted out, it ought not to be me. But I might agree in principle that you need to punish the leaders for what happened. Consensus-building failed for that night,” he explained.
According to Dafeamekpor, much of the disorder stemmed from the unyielding approach of the Minority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh.
“If my counterpart was not minded on his insistence on his modus operandi, we wouldn’t have experienced that, but he insisted. Once they decided to destroy tables, raise tables, what could I have done just to suffer for the punishment?” he lamented.
The South Dayi MP stressed the need for structural reforms to prevent similar incidents in the future, noting that Parliament must improve its approach to consensus-building, stating “a lot of things need to be streamlined.”
Background
A misunderstanding between the Minority and Majority members of Parliament’s Appointments Committee over the vetting schedule of ministerial nominees led to chaos on January 30.
The Minority, citing fatigue, requested a postponement, but the Majority insisted on completing the process as planned.
The disagreement escalated into a physical confrontation, resulting in damage to property in the vetting room.
In response to the chaos, the Speaker suspended four MPs, namely Frank Annoh-Dompreh (NPP, Nsawam/Adoagyiri), Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (NDC, South Dayi), Alhassan Tampuli (NPP, Gushegu), and Jerry Ahmed Shaib (NPP, Weija-Gbawe).
However, after a plea by the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, seconded by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, the Speaker lifted the suspension on the four MPs.
A seven-member parliamentary committee, chaired by Ho West MP, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, commenced public hearings on February 5, 2025, at Parliament, to investigate the misconduct of the MPs during the vetting session conducted by the Appointments Committee.
The committee is expected to bring transparency to the events that unfolded during the vetting process.
Meanwhile, the Minority has announced its decision to step back from the ad-hoc committee investigating the incident, following their concerns that the chairman of the committee, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, is biased.
RAD/AE
You can also watch as Asiedu Nketiah allegedly drags President Mahama to FEC over appointments snub below: