The Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Nelson-Rockson Dafeamekpor, has accepted responsibility for the chaotic events that occurred during the Appointments Committee’s sitting on January 30, acknowledging the leadership’s role in the outcome.
The confrontation between the majority and minority sides of the House during the vetting of ministerial nominees resulted in the destruction of public property, leading Speaker Alban Bagbin to establish an investigative committee.
Speaking to the special committee investigating the vetting chaos in Accra on Monday, February 10, he noted that there were disagreements among those involved over who should be held accountable for the disruption.
“I take responsibility, so when my punishment came, I took it in good faith,” Dafeamekpor said, in response to the fallout from the incident. He acknowledged that while some disagreed with the distribution of punishment, his stance on accountability remained unchanged”.
“Others disagreed that essentially if punishment were to be meted out, it ought not to be me” he said.
Reflecting on the breakdown of consensus-building efforts, Dafeamekpor identified a key moment that led to the chaos.
He disclosed that, the situation got out of hand when some individuals insisted on disrupting the proceedings, raising tables and chairs, making it difficult to maintain order.
“Once they decided to disrupt, raise tables, raise chairs, what can I do? What could I have done? Just to suffer for the punishment?” he asked.
Dafeamekpor however acknowledged that the situation could have been better managed.
