We don’t need your support – NDC MP replies Majority Leader

NDC’s South Dayi Member of Parliament, Nelson Dafeaamekpor has given a sharp reply to the Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu on the BoG saga. Nelson Dafeamekpor was reacting to the long-serving NPP MP’s comments on TV3 about the recent demonstrations to the central bank’s offices by the Minority in Parliament.

The Majority Leader opined that the NDC lawmakers could have used the diplomatic option of inviting the Bank of Ghana governor to the house for questioning instead of embarking on the protest which didn’t yield the expected results.

Reports emerged that the Bank of Ghana was spending $250 million on its new headquarters building. This was after the bank reported for the first time in its history losses in excess of GHS60 billion. The Minority called for the governor and his deputies to resign. A protest march to the current BoG headquarters on October 3, 2023, led by the Minority was not fruitful as the bank’s leadership sent the head of security at the bank to receive the petition from the protestors.

That gesture caused a public uproar as many described it as disrespectful and insulting for the governor, Ernest Addison and his deputies to delegate the head of security to take the petition from the lawmakers and the thousands of Ghanaians who joined the protest.

In his comments on the motion by the NDC in parliament to invite the BoG governor to the house, the Majority Leader said that should have been the first thing and not the demonstration and the press conference the Minority did. He asked if the Minority expected him to support them after they acted inappropriately.

“We are Members of Parliament, we could have invited the Governor to come and talk about the issues that are not clear to us. You go on a demonstration and organize a press conference against the man then you come back to Parliament to move the motion [to invite him], do you want me to support that?

“Now, you have made up your mind that whatever has been done by [the Governor] is inappropriate, you are not going to countenance it. If he comes to explain the issues, are you going to take it or jettison it?” Kyei-Mensah Bonsu asked.

But in a sharp rebuttal, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor told the Suame lawmaker that the Minority never expected him nor his caucus to support their cause. He said the Majority Leader could not support his own caucus members when they wanted to remove Ken Ofori-Atta from office so how is it then that he will now support an opposition cause?

“We in the NDC don’t expect it after all, the NPP MPs couldn’t support their own calls for removal of Ken Ofori Atta, how can they support us?” Dafeamekpor tweeted.