Politics of 2026-10-17
Afenyo-Markin should resign as Minority Leader to protect NPP’s image – Kotin
The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for Security and Counterterrorism, Emmanuel Kotin, has called on the Minority Leader in Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, to resign over allegations of extortion levelled against him.
Kotin said the Minority Leader should step down if he wanted to preserve his dignity and protect the image of the Minority caucus and the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“To save the face of the Minority, if Honourable Afenyo-Markin had any sense of dignity in him, he should have resigned as the Minority Leader,” he said.
Speaking during a panel discussion on GBC’s Current Agenda on October 17, 2026, Kotin argued that the allegation alone had damaged the reputation of the Minority caucus and the NPP.
“He should have resigned because of the claim of him being an extortionist,” he added.
He also criticised the legal approach adopted by Mr Afenyo-Markin in seeking redress, describing his defamation suit as defective and embarrassing to the party.
“So if you could file a defective application in court seeking defamation, what have you done to your party?” Mr Kotin questioned.
The security analyst further insisted that if Mr Afenyo-Markin refused to resign voluntarily, the NPP leadership should compel him to step down.
He disclosed that his outfit had contacted some individuals within the party to understand why action had not been taken against the Minority Leader. According to him, the response suggested that party members feared political repercussions.
“When we contacted people within the party [to ask] why they are not pushing him to resign, it was an allegation of being connected to a certain politician, and if they push him now, the party will suffer some harm,” he said.
However, Kotin dismissed those concerns, arguing that the party would be better served by addressing the issue immediately and repairing its image rather than risking further controversy.
“It is better to push him out now, repair whatever damage the party seeks to get, than leaving him there for another issue of this nature to come. Who will take Afenyo-Markin seriously again in this country?” he asked.
Kotin also lamented that the extortion allegation had dominated national discourse for weeks, diverting attention from pressing social and economic issues, including a recent World Bank report on financial losses.
The call for Mr Afenyo-Markin’s resignation follows a public dispute between the Effutu MP and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board (GoldBod), Sammy Gyamfi.
Gyamfi had alleged on a media platform that the Minority Leader was involved in extortion.
Afenyo-Markin has denied the allegation and subsequently filed a defamation suit against Mr Gyamfi, seeking damages and a retraction.
