Presidential Staffer Nana Yaa Jantuah has announced plans to petition the Speaker of Parliament over comments made by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, accusing him of disrespecting her after describing her as “a nobody” during the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) protest at the Jubilee House.
Madam Jantuah said the Minority Leader’s remarks were not only disrespectful to her but also to President John Dramani Mahama, who had delegated her to receive the petition on his behalf.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, she said the President had asked her to stand in for him because he and other government officials were attending events marking the first anniversary of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of several national figures.
“Everyone was at the one-year anniversary of the helicopter crash victims, so the President suggested I go and receive the petition. They gave me a call time of 11 a.m., but they arrived around 1 p.m.,” she said.
According to her, some members of the NPP delegation initially refused to present the petition after realising she had been delegated to receive it.
“I watched from afar as they protested that they wouldn’t hand over the petition to me. I didn’t react because I was there in the stead of the President,” she stated.
Nana Yaa Jantuah alleged that the NPP leaders held internal discussions before deciding not to hand over the petition.
She expressed disappointment over what she described as the Minority Leader’s conduct, saying he had no justification for speaking to her in that manner.
“I am old enough to be your mother. Afenyo-Markin is a small boy in my eyes. Who is he to disrespect me? He should never try that again,” she said.
She added that she had known NPP General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua from his childhood and expected greater respect from the party’s leadership.
“As for Justin, I knew him when he was still in diapers,” she remarked.
Madam Jantuah rejected the description of her as “a nobody,” arguing that as a senior government official representing the President, she deserved respect regardless of political differences.
“NPP wants respect, but they don’t know how to give it, especially to women. I am a senior government official. Why would Afenyo-Markin say I am a nobody? How dare him say that in public?” she questioned.
She disclosed that she intends to petition Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin to demand that the Minority Leader withdraw the remarks.
“I will petition the Speaker for Afenyo-Markin to withdraw what he said. He used to call me ‘Senior.’ What has changed? I am so mortified. I cannot comprehend what happened,” she said.
The exchange follows a standoff at the Jubilee House during the NPP’s presentation of a petition, where disagreements arose over who should officially receive the document on behalf of the Presidency.
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