The first deputy speaker of parliament and chairman of the appointment committee, Bernard Ahiafor, has clarified that it is not within his authority to impose on any member of the appointment committee the specific number of questions to be asked.
In an interview with TV3 on Monday, February 3, 2024, the Chairman emphasized that the most important thing is for the public to understand the reasoning behind the nominees’ vetting process.
According to him, his responsibility for the number of questions to be asked by a committee member is to ensure that these questions do not go beyond the three questions that each member is entitled to as discussed before the commencement of the vetting.
“If a member decides that I want to ask a question instead of three questions and a supplementary question, as a chairman of the committee, it is not my responsibility to ensure that the member asks three questions,” he said.
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This clarification comes in response to observations that some nominees have been vetted in as little as 15 minutes, while others have undergone hours-long questioning sessions.
Meanwhile, the chairman clarified that, by agreement, the minority leader, Hon. Afenyo Markin and the chairman of the committee have the privilege to ask unlimited questions and and are not bound by time as much as the necessity of their quaestions are concerned.
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Following the depature of the minority members after chaos in Parliament on Thursday, January 30, 2025, the minority members of the committee chose to boycott the proceedings, which allowed the remaining nominees to be vetted much more quickly than usual.
This absence led to a record approval time, with ten nominees vetted in under four hours.