'May God grant us the strength and maturity of Bernard Ahiafor' - Barker-Vormawor

Private legal practitioner and activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has expressed his admiration for Bernard Ahiafor, the Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, following his handling of the tense ministerial vetting sessions on Monday, January 20, 2025.

Barker-Vormawor shared his thoughts on X, stating, "May God grant us all the serenity and maturity of @Ben_Ahiafor. In the face of immaturity and tantrums, he has kept his dignity intact. To those criticising him for refusing to engage Afenyo-Markin in his temper tantrums, what would you have him do? Engage in a fistfight? Strength is not loud; it is patient and deliberate. Shalom."

The vetting process, which saw heated exchanges and escalating tensions, was particularly fraught when Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, raised concerns about the appointments of Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors.

However, the Majority side argued that these issues fell outside the scope of the ministerial vetting, leading to further disputes.

The session, which was scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM with the vetting of Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minister of Roads and Highways-designate, was delayed due to the rising tensions.

By 11:54 AM, the vetting had not yet started.

In an attempt to restore order, the session was briefly suspended for five minutes, but tensions remained high even after the break.

Afenyo-Markin, visibly frustrated, accused his colleagues, including the Deputy Speaker, of rude behavior and criticised Chairman Ahiafor for proceeding in bad faith.

He claimed that despite the brief suspension, the session resumed without the presence of the Minority members.

“Chairman, don’t raise your voice. You suspended the sitting for five minutes, and when I said I was having a meeting with my caucus, you started the session without me,” Afenyo-Markin protested. “I want to register my protest that you proceeded in bad faith," he noted.

He added, “This is not the understanding we had. I was responding to a point of order when you rudely interrupted me. Chairman, lower your voice. All of you have been rude to me this morning, including you, Chairman. The rate at which I’ve been interrupted is unacceptable.”

Despite his outbursts, Afenyo-Markin later apologised to the Chairman after objections were raised.

Throughout the proceedings, Ahiafor’s calm demeanour stood despite the intense confrontations around him.

Read his post below:

May God grant us all the serenity and maturity of @Ben_Ahiafor.

For in the face of grave immaturity and tantrums, he retains his dignity.

To those of you saying he is weak for refusing to engage Afenyo-Markins in his temper tantrums, what would you have him do?

Engage him in a…

— Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor (@barkervogues) January 20, 2025