Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Minority Leader Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin have once again clashed in a heated confrontation that erupted in Parliament on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 over Ofori-Atta’s US residency.
The Majority leader recalled that Afenyo-Markin assured the House that he would bring Ken Ofori-Atta to Ghana, but it never happened.
He further accused Ofori-Atta of abandoning the country after presiding over the economic mismanagement under the Akufo-Addo government.
Speaking on the floor of parliament, Mahama Ayariga stated, “You promised us in this chamber that you would bring Ken Ofori-Atta to Ghana. You promised us; we didn’t ask you, but you promised us that you would bring Ken Ofori-Atta. Now, we are told that he has obtained permanent residency in the United States. A former finance minister running away from his country, and you sit there, and you want to complain about a government that is just one and a half years in office fixing the mess?”
“Mr Speaker, I will never be provoked, but it is becoming one too many that the majority leader has made Ken Ofori-Atta his target. Mr Speaker, with respect, my respected senior at the bar knows that a man must be heard and that even if all men find a man’s hand in a tail, his guilt must be proven.
However, Afenyo-Markin, in reaction, defended Ofori-Atta and accused the Majority Leader of turning Parliament into a platform for personal attacks,
He argued that it was unfair to target someone who was not present to respond.
Afenyo-Markin stated, “…He knows that as a matter of law, you cannot [make such comments about] Ken Ofori-Atta when the man is not here to defend himself. You cannot make serious allegations against him,” he stressed.
He further accused Mahama Ayariga of deflecting from pressing economic issues, such as job creation, to instead attack the former minister.
“Mr Speaker, I will never be provoked, but it is becoming one too many that the majority leader has made Ken Ofori-Atta his target. Mr Speaker, with respect, my respected senior at the bar knows that a man must be heard and that even if all men find a man’s hand in a tail, his guilt must be proven.”
“He knows that as a matter of law, you cannot make such comments about Ken Ofori-Atta when the man is not here to defend himself. You cannot make serious allegations against him.”
He added, “Mr Speaker, please and please again to the Majority Leader, if he has no answer to the struggling economy that is struggling when we talk about the economy, we are talking about the jobs you have failed to create. He should answer those specific questions, stop the blame game, and stop making people the target. He is not here to answer.”
“As for Ken Ofori-Atta, if you think that you have all your evidence and you have evidence of anything done, the court is yours. You have control of the court. Go ahead. Who has stopped you?”
“But don’t use this parliament to launch an attack on Ken Ofori-Atta. He came to serve; if you have any issues with his service, deal with it enough!”
Watch the video below:
If you have no answers to the economy that is struggling shut up and stop blaming Ken Ofori Atta – Afenyo-Markin blast Mahama Ayariga pic.twitter.com/CnwnshZOMp
— Osono Ammiel (@OsonoAmmiel) June 17, 2026
@ghnow_ Ayariga: If he talks, I will respond. You don’t throw stones when you live in a glass house. Afenyo-Markin: Since when did anybody become afraid of you? Bring it on, and we’ll see who will be bruised. Watch how the Majority and Minority Leaders ended their unexpected exchanges on Ken Ofori-Atta. #GHNow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
