The Minority Caucus in Parliament has formally called for the recusal of Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah from his position as Chair of the Ad-hoc Committee investigating the disturbance at the Appointments Committee on January 30, 2025.
The Minority Caucus in a memorandum voiced its concerns over Bedzrah’s alleged bias and breach of impartiality which according to them have prompted the urgent request.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin in the memorandum highlighted several instances where Bedzrah’s public statements compromised the committee’s impartiality.
Afenyo- Markin pointed out key allegations made by Bedzrah which include
1. The Minority Leader instructing colleagues not to participate in the probe.
2. A Minority MP communicating via SMS that they were acting on the Minority Leader’s directive to decline appearing before the Committee.
3. An NPP MP initially participating but later withdrawing from the proceedings, allegedly on the Minority Leader’s instruction.
The Minority Caucus emphasized that such statements from Bedzrah have created a perception of bias, particularly against the Minority, and have undermined the credibility of the committee’s work.
The Minority Caucus has therefore called on the speaker to rescue him from the committee to restore confidence.
The Minority caucus added that, “the Committee should be reconstituted with a new Chairperson, in consultation with the leadership of the House. The new Chairperson must undertake the task with the requisite neutrality and discretion as well as all Members of the Committee”.
“This request is made not as a challenge to your authority as Speaker but as a necessary corrective measure to restore faith in the process and ensure that the inquiry does not lend itself to perceptions of partisanship or undue prejudice”.
