The Majority Leader of Parliament, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, is angry at Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, for accusing him of instigating the “Ken Ofori-Atta Must Go” campaign, which has seen some 90 plus Members of Parliament (MPs) on the ticket of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), for the dismissal of the Finance Minister, a cousin to the President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, who is the MP for Suame in the Ashanti Region, has been speaking in Kumasi, questioning Gabby’s locus, and this could signal his end as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, as well as his ambition and schemes to be a running mate to Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
Just last week, former Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu, accused the same Keyi-Mensah-Bonsu, of playing games with the ‘Ofori-Atta must go’ saga by sometimes siding with his colleagues in Parliament demanding for the head of the Finance Minister and other times with President Akufo-Addo and his cousin, 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?” Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, retorted on Kmuasi-based Sompa Radio.
“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.
Nana Akufo-Addo, Gabby and Ken Ofori-Atta, are cousins who look out for each other.
Last week, publications in various newspapers mentioned that the Suame MP, was angling for the Finance Minister’s job. This appears not to have excited Gabby, who apparently went after the Major Leader, who is also Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the Akufo-Addo government.
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.
Mr Amidu, a former Attorney General, said Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, is appearing to be “holier than thou”, with a game plan to please both the 80 rebellious MPs from his side – who demanded the resignation of Ken Ofori-Atta and Adu Boahen – and the presidency.
Following the rebellious MPs’ demand, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, had earlier said: “I have listened to their concerns, about the fact that if the Finance Minister is removed it might help us in our recovery. I told them I appreciate their concerns.
My only concern was the timing. Considering our negotiations with the IMF and how far it has come, and how it may affect the progress we have made so far….I appealed to them to hold their horses; that was on Sunday, and I even revealed some discussions I had earlier with the President, and I thought that was going to calm their nerves a bit. But at the end of the day, I was unable to dissuade them.”
Subsequently, the Suame MP told journalists: “Even though the issue started with a group of 80-plus, the caucus meeting aligned with the decision of that group”, he said, explaining: “So, it is no longer the cause of the 80-plus group. It is the agenda for the entire caucus”.
“Indeed the Majority Leader was just attempting to play both sides of the game with his rebel members and with the Presidency”, Mr Amidu pointed out in a long article on the whole ‘Ofori-Atta Must Go’ saga.
In his view, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s game now has made him appear to be “holier than thou” in the whole drama.
Amidu’s accusations comes as the nose is tightening on the neck of Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, with the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, yesterday, setting up an eight-member bipartisan committee to investigate allegations of conflict of interest allegations levelled against him and the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen, who was sacked on Monday over a video made by Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
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.
