Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, has charged members of his caucus to be measured in their utterances and “not go out of our way to denigrate ourselves.”
The lawmaker says with the upcoming elections in few months, the times are sensitive for members to be making some comments that will not auger well for them.
His caution comes on the back of comments from the Member of Parliament for Asante Akyem North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, that, although Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh who has been widely tipped as the chosen candidate to pair their flag bearer qualifies for the position, he is not his preference.
According to Mr. Appiah-Kubi, the Energy Minister does not possess the qualities he wants an NPP Vice Presidential candidate to have.
The legislator had intimated Thursday, June 27, 2024, that: “We have not been consulted as a caucus for us to state our position, but me Appiah-Kubi, if it was for me to choose, I won’t choose him. Because he is not my preference… I would want somebody who will be open to the people on the ground, who will be able to deliver the votes, somebody who will submit to the presidency and who will also bring parliament closer to the executive.”
Reacting to the development, the caucus leader advised that all members of the Majority “respect party rules and understand that the times we are in are very sensitive times. We have an election just ahead of us and we should be mindful of how we express certain views in the public space. Yes, we’ve all heard matters regarding our ticket but no decision has been made yet.
“So I would want to encourage colleague Members of Parliament that we are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world. The language we use, it may not be helpful.
So that is all my advice. Let us please be measured in the language we use. The flag bearer of the party has the confidence of the party and I believe that he would use the structures of the party to come up with certain decisions that he has for us,” he added.
Afenyo-Markin continued that leadership of the party should be allowed to apply party rules, and MPs, should comport themselves in order not to wash their dirty linen in public.
“So, let us wait and at least respect the leadership of the party. We should not go out of our way to denigrate ourselves. We should not go out of our way to describe ourselves in a manner that will be unacceptable,” he counseled.
The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is reported to have presented Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh’s name to President Akufo-Addo Wednesday, June 26, as his choice of a running mate.
Prior to that, Dr Opoku Prempeh has been widely tipped to be the choice among others.
