Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Boakye Agyarko, delivered a compelling speech during an engagement with members of the Minority Caucus of the 9th Parliament.
Boakye Agyarko, who served as Minister for Energy during the first term of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, noted that although the NPP MPs currently number only 88 compared to the Majority Caucus’s 187, they can still wield significant influence in parliamentary decision-making.
He cited the example of the NPP Minority Caucus of 1997, led by the late Joseph Henry (J.H.) Mensah, who, despite leading a minority, was instrumental in shaping the direction of the House.
“We were outnumbered and seemed outgunned, but our dedicated and hardworking crop of MPs would not roll over and play dead to the NDC. Collectively, under the leadership of Hon. Joseph Henry Abbiw Mensah, they put up a gallant, intelligent, and strategic fight, so much so that it earned the admiration of the Majority side,” he recalled.
“Walk any day into that small office he had in Parliament House and you would find it filled with more NDC MPs than NPP MPs. They had come, as it were, on a pilgrimage to tap into the collective wisdom of the minority side. In so doing, the mind of the minority prevailed and directed the minds and actions of the majority side. How subtle. We did it then to great effect, we can and must do it again.”
Agyarko emphasised that the J.H. Mensah-led Minority was effective because they were factual, strategic, and proactive, qualities he urged the current Minority Caucus, led by Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin, to emulate.
“We must be diligent in our research and always present superior material and arguments in the House. We must be proactive on all issues to prevent our opponents from putting us on the back foot.
“We must be factual, educative, and accurate on matters we wish to bring to the people of Ghana. We must be very strategic in the battles we pick to fight, so as not to be seen as merely opposing,” he noted.
He concluded by stressing the importance of the MPs’ role in the party’s performance in the upcoming 2028 general election.
“On the broader front, our fighting force for the reclamation of electoral and political territory is now largely dependent on you, our parliamentary party. There is a herculean task ahead of you.
“These tasks are to be performed in an environment marked by all manner of shortages, money, material resources, quality human capital, time, and patience, all while your constituents are constantly snapping at your heels,” he concluded.
BAI/MA
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