NDC's National Executive Committee (NEC) has implored its members on the Appointments Committee of Parliament not to accept any “insincere apologies” of some ministerial nominees who have appeared before the committee to be vetted.

The National Democratic Congress' NEC in a statement said its MPs should remain resolute in their contributions to the committee while ensuring that nominees who fall within the bracket of the above, are not let off the hook.

This was contained in a statement issued by them after an emergency meeting held in Accra on Monday, March 1, 2021, where it discussed matters on the ongoing vetting at Parliament, among other issues.

“The meeting discussed among other things, the ongoing vetting of ministerial nominees and urged the NDC Parliamentary caucus to be firm and resolute in their duties on the Appointment Committee. It urged them to reject insincere apologies rendered by some of the nominees at the Vetting Committee sittings and hold them responsible for their actions and/or statements which violate the obligations imposed on Public Office Holders by the 1992 Constitution,” General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah said in the statement signed under his name.

According to a citinewsroom.com report, there are 13 members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on the Appointments Committee which has so far seen over 30 nominees vetted.

In a few instances when some nominees appeared before the Committee, they had cause to apologize for claims and statements they made especially against former President John Dramani Mahama, and in a few instances, the NDC.

A particular instance that comes to mind was when the minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mavis Hawa Koomson, apologized for firing a gun at a polling station during the voter registration exercise in her constituency in June 2020.

“We are all MPs, incidents do happen in our constituencies, sometimes supporters of your opponents but when you hear people are injured you try to comfort them. To let them know that it was not deliberate. So when you apologize, people will believe that it is sincere….

"But if something of this nature happens in your constituency – with all the news around it – you never find out those who were injured and to visit them, and you come to the Appointments Committee and you say ‘Oh, I am sorry,’ you make it difficult for me to believe the sincerity of the apology,” the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, said, expressing skepticism about the genuineness of the apology.

Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who is the minister-designate for Energy also apologized before the Committee for accusing former President John Mahama of machinations to sabotage the Computerized School Placement system in 2019.