The Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has denied reports that he urged the Minority in Parliament to support the passage of the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-levy) to ensure Government has the needed resources to evacuate Ghanaian nationals from Ukraine.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, Mr Afenyo-Markin stressed that he never made such a statement.

“The MyJoyOnline yesterday at 4:47 PM put this on their online platform. ‘Evacuation of Ghanaians from Ukraine is more reason we need E-levy – Afenyo-Markin’. Mr Speaker, I have not said that. I will never say that and the full tape of what I said is still there,” he said.

However, the report under reference indicates that Mr Afenyo-Markin expressed concerns over the recent tension in Ukraine that poses a threat to the lives of Ghanaian nationals residing there.

He noted that “we must care about our own citizens in Ukraine considering what is happening there. The call to evacuate Ghanaian citizens from Ukraine will come at a cost,” adding that “no European country will evacuate our citizens for us. America will not do that. There is going to be pressure on the limited resources that we have.”

The Deputy Majority Leader later added that “Of course, Deputy Minority Leader, you have not spoken into the microphone, but if you are talking about E-levy, this is the more important reason why we even need it.”

“If you were talking about the E-levy, that was the next point I was going to get to. That we should congregate around it and find a way of generating revenue as a country to save the situation because we are not in normal times.”

According to Mr Afenyo-Markin, following this publication, he has been ridiculed by some members of the public on social media since other online portals and General Manager of EIB, Nana Aba Anamoah reposted the story, thus widening the readership.

“Unfortunately, when they did this, other online platforms have carried this including Nana Aba Anamoah who copied the headline and placed it on her social media handle.”

“People reading and ridiculing my thoughts. We can’t entertain this. This morning, my respected friend Randy Abbey – he was very light on handling the matter but at least he passed a comment on it on Good Morning Ghana. A lot of online platforms have this. (We don’t) have to wait until it is somebody before we comment on it.”

Mr Afenyo-Markin, who is also the MP for Effutu, has, therefore, demanded a retraction and an “unqualified apology.”

“Other online platforms that carried this mischief do same and I’m making an appeal to Nana Aba Anamoah that she should also check with me because at least she has my number. We can’t allow this. Then we mess each other up and then people take us not serious that politicians just get up and say anything,” he continued.

According to the Effutu MP, “I am not perfect, but I am always careful about things I say. If I’m not sure, I won’t say them. I may slip.”