Stop blackmailing Nana Addo over Ofori-Atta

Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for the Assin Central constituency, in the Central Region has called on the Majority Caucus to be men and women of honour and respect the well-publicized respect agreement they entered into with President Nana Akufo-Addo that they would allow and support Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to present the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy although they want him out of office.

Mr. Agyapong made the call in a statement he signed and issued on Tuesday November 22, 2022, in which he suggested that the eleventh hour U-turn by some members of the Majority Caucus, despite their agreed and announced deal with the President, smacks of a blackmail attempt and a disregard for his authority and high office.

“I know fully well that calls for the sacking of Mr Ofori-Atta reached the President and he has given assurances that he will revisit the matter after the Budget presentation and a successful end to Ghana’s ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“The leadership of the Majority Group later issued a statement agreeing to the President’s request. Therefore, the insistence by some MPs that they will not attend Thursday’s proceedings means no more than an attempt to blackmail or unduly force the hands of the President and or undermine his authority and agenda for Ghanaians. That cannot be right. The President is our leader and deserves the full benefit of the doubt if any”, Kennedy Agyapong noted in his statement.

His calls comes on the heels of reports that some members of the Majority Caucus have threatened to boycott the presentation of the 2023 Budget statement on Thursday if it would be done by Ken Ofori-Atta.

Kennedy Agyapong noted that in as much as the MPs are in Parliament for the interests of their respective constituencies, they as MPs on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have formed a Caucus and it is binding on the members of that Caucus to  protect the interest of the Party and Government as well.

Kenney Agyapong’s statement noted further: “In any case, we have all been elected as Members of Parliament to serve the best interests of the people of our individual and collective constituencies. Given the crippling economic crisis facing the people of Ghana and their businesses, it is the highest level of insensitivity towards the plight of our nation and her people for any elected representative or group of elected representatives to use their public offices to attempt to hold hostage efforts to address the economic problems facing all of us.

“Instead, the patriotic, urgent, compassionate and proper thing to do is first to help the government pass its budget and then later confront and address, if we must, the issue of who is fit or not fit to lead the Ministry of Finance.

“These are very challenging global times, with escalating energy and food prices pushing millions in Africa and elsewhere into extreme poverty and threatening the internal security of many nations, including ours. Ghanaians need, therefore, their elected representatives to show up for work and help them survive the worsening global economic turmoil. It is not the time to play political games or feed egos.

“I firmly believe that if there is ever any time that Ghanaians expect us to do our duty to Ghana unconditionally, it is now. We must not and cannot sacrifice that responsibility to our people on the side issue of who presents the 2023 Budget to Parliament.

“Let us show leadership and demonstrate solidarity with the struggling masses of our people by turning out in our numbers to support the President’s proposed plan to put Ghana back on the path of economic recovery and triumph.

“Every NPP MP has to preserve and ensure that the agenda of the Akufo-Addo government for Ghana succeeds, otherwise, the people of Ghana would have no reason to return the NPP to power in 2024.

“By this statement, I am also calling on the good people of Ghana to keep the faith and trust that the NPP government has the right plan, strategy, and requisite expertise to steer our country out of the prevailing economic headwinds.”