The Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has expressed anger over some allegations levelled against him by a stalwart of the New Patriotic Party, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.
According to the Member of Parliament for Suame, Mr Otchere-Darko has wrongly accused him of being the mastermind behind some NPP MPs demanding the sacking of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
“From nowhere, we hear Gabby Otchere-Darko on his Asaase Radio accusing me of instigating what was happening, for what? What do I stand to gain from that?” he retorted.
Speaking in an interview with Kumasi-based Sompa Radio, the majority leader questioned the authority of the cousin of the finance minister for leveling such allegations against him.
“There are people who would rather want to cause disintegration while you are committed to integrating. But now this has brought about another sense of anger. That Gabby Otchere-Darko, who does he think he is? I serve Akufo-Addo, and I serve the party as well as the government… when we talk about the government itself, what is your locus standi to be accusing me of being an instigator?” the majority leader questioned.
The majority leader noted that it rather took his intervention to instill calm when a group of MPs in the NPP made public demands for the dismissal of the finance minister.
“With the way the thing started, if I had not been hinted at by a colleague to intervene, we would have been in a bad place. Today is November 15, and we were supposed to present the budget today, but we had to postpone to 24th because I realised we may not be prepared after studying the situation. I sat with the finance minister and agreed with him to postpone it. After doing this and you turn to accuse me of being an instigator, what if I decide to watch and let everything fall apart?” he stated.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who also doubles as the Minister for Parliamentary Business, further accused Gabby of sponsoring a contestant against him in the 2016 primaries of the NPP, noting that he failed in his agenda.
“You (Gabby) are the same person who wrote something for someone to publish on his radio station that I will lose if I contest for re-election, hence my saying that I will not contest again. Gabby Otchere-Darko, have you contested an election before? They are the same people who sponsored people to contest against me in 2016, it didn’t work for them.”
According to the majority leader, Gabby Otchere-Darko accused him of instigating calls for the finance minister’s sacking just so the leader of government business in parliament can be considered as a replacement for the under fire Ken Ofori-Atta.
There have been public calls for the sacking of Ken Ofori-Atta, with his critics citing him as responsible for Ghana’s current economic challenges.
In a recent press conference, NPP members in parliament demanded the minister’s dismissal, claiming that doing so would help restore confidence in the Ghanaian economy.
Their demand, however, is said to have been met by a request from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who asked that Ken Ofori-Atta be allowed to conclude Ghana’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
The president further demanded that the minister be allowed to present the 2023 budget before the demand for his removal may be considered.