Prominent National Democratic Congress (NDC) figure and former Ghanaian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dr. Tony Aidoo, has taken a swipe at Minority Leader and MP for Efutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accusing him of displaying behavior that starkly contradicts his self-proclaimed gentleness.
Dr. Aidoo expressed concern over Afenyo-Markin’s demeanor during the ministerial vetting process in Parliament, describing it as a classic case of cognitive dissonance—a psychological phenomenon where an individual’s actions clash with their beliefs, leading to internal conflict.
“Afenyo-Markin’s behavior, excuse me to say, he is having a very tough case of cognitive dissonance,” Dr. Aidoo remarked during a discussion on recent parliamentary proceedings.
Expounding on the concept, he explained, “Cognitive dissonance in socio-psychological terms says that when your cognitive elements appear to conflict, you are compelled to restore consonance by either eliminating or devaluing one of the elements that you believe is busy. And that is how Afenyo-Markin has been behaving.”
According to Dr. Aidoo, the Minority Leader’s assertive and sometimes aggressive rhetoric is inconsistent with the reality that his party is in the minority. He noted, “He maintains a very, very boisterous language, and incredibly enough, he will be the first to say, ‘I’m a gentleman, I’m reasonable,’ and yet his behavior doesn’t correspond to the rhetoric that he wants the public to hear.”
Drawing from personal experience, Dr. Aidoo recalled an incident in 2008 involving veteran politicians JH Mensah and Kwamena Bartels.
“In 2008, when Rawlings appointed me Deputy Minister of Defence, JH Mensah wrote to the then Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Ken Dzirasah, demanding that my confidential university file from Cape Coast be subpoenaed. When Dzirasah questioned his reason, he simply insisted that he wanted it. However, he didn’t have the decency to confront me during my vetting session. Instead, he walked out saying, ‘You people go ahead and vet him, I have already voted against him.’ That is not honorable behavior.”
Dr. Aidoo also recalled how Kwamena Bartels falsely accused him of insulting the then Speaker of Parliament, Justice DF Annan, at the Osu Castle—an office the Speaker never even had at the time. He shared how DF Annan later reassured him that while he had heard the false claims, his role as Speaker prevented him from intervening in the debate.
He criticized what he sees as a recurring pattern among New Patriotic Party (NPP) politicians, saying, “The haughty behavioral orientation of NPP politicians, the presentation that they know everything, and yet, like I said, when politicking is going on, their arguments are just sheer sophistry… escaping from the question, interposing lies to justify their actions, and passing the buck has been very characteristic of NPP politicians. They never accept that they are wrong. It’s always the other side, the other person is wrong.”
Dr. Aidoo specifically took issue with Afenyo-Markin’s recent attacks on the Clerk of the Appointments Committee, Gifty Jiagge-Gobah, whom the Minority Leader accused of partisanship.
“Afenyo-Markin targeting the clerk of this committee, saying all kinds of things which the poor lady doesn’t have a chance on the floor or cannot take part in a debate at the appointment committee to answer—that is not the expected behavior of a parliamentarian. You can’t do that.”
Background
The controversy erupted after Afenyo-Markin accused the Clerk of the Appointments Committee of bias, a claim that sparked heated exchanges among MPs. The committee’s Chairman, Bernard Ahiafor, has since demanded that Afenyo-Markin apologize unreservedly or face a referral to the Privileges Committee of Parliament.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has also taken action, suspending four MPs—three from the NPP and one from the NDC—following the altercation. The suspended MPs are Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor (South Dayi), Frank Annoh-Dompreh (Nsawam-Adoagyiri), Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli (Gushegu), and Jerry Ahmed Shaib (Weija-Gbawe). Bagbin described the incident as ‘shameful’ and has ordered an investigation into the matter.
