Former Majority Leader and Suame MP, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu
Former Majority Leader and Suame MP, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has opened up about the internal politics within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that led to his removal, paving the way for Alexander Afenyo-Markin to take his place.
Speaking candidly on the issue in an interview on Asempa FM monitored by MyNewsGh, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed that he was forewarned about the President Akufo-Addo’s intentions.
“Some of my colleagues informed me ahead of time that the president wanted me out. Many MPs encouraged me to fight back, assuring me of their support,” he disclosed.
However, he chose to step down rather than engage in a drawn-out conflict with the president. “I didn’t want to create division within the party. If the NPP lost the elections, I knew I would be blamed, so I decided to leave,” he explained.
He recounted an emergency meeting called by Akufo-Addo before the elections, at a time when John Dramani Mahama had yet to announce his running mate.
According to Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the president expressed concerns about the NPP’s declining influence in the Central Region and the need for a leader who could bolster their presence.
“The president argued that the NDC was gaining ground in the Central Region, especially with Naana Opoku-Agyemang likely to be Mahama’s running mate and Ato Forson taking up the Minority Leader position,” he stated.
Akufo-Addo, he claimed, believed that Afenyo-Markin, who hails from the Central Region, would be a more strategic fit to counterbalance the NDC’s growing influence.
“Most MPs disagreed with this reasoning, but I saw where things were headed. Rather than make things more complicated, I stepped aside,” he added.
Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:
