The Majority Leader in Parliament, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has urged members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament to be cautious in expressing their views in the public space.
He emphasized the importance of respecting party rules and avoiding negative descriptions of fellow party members.
Afenyo-Markin cited the sensitivity of the current election year as the reason for his warning. He believes that the party’s unity and reputation are at stake, and members must exercise restraint in their public statements to avoid causing unnecessary divisions or damage to the party’s image.
Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin comments come at the back of concerns raised by some NPP Members of Parliament regarding the running mate of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia going into the 2024 general elections.
On June 26, it was reported that the flagbearer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, consulted President Akufo-Addo on his choice of a running mate for the December 7 presidential election.
After which he presented the Energy Minister Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO, to President Akufo-Addo, who offered some advice and shared his thoughts but eventually accepted Dr Bawumia’s choice.
On Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday, 27 June 2024, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, Mr Appiah-Kubi launched into a furious tirade against Dr Opoku Prempeh a.k.a. Napo, and also virtually criticised Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for selecting the Manhyia South MP as his running mate.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, the Energy Minister, Mr Opoku Prempeh is not acceptable to the entirety of the NPP base, particularly MPs, adding that the Energy Minister cannot campaign effectively in many constituencies.
“Let us all 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 running mate to complement our ticket but no decision has been made yet and the party structures are there.
“So I would like to encourage fellow Members of Parliament that we are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world, there is no perfect character in this world ”
The Majority Leader encouraged NPP members to focus on promoting the party’s positive agenda and achievements, rather than engaging in negative politics or infighting. He urged them to have faith in the party’s Flagbearer and respect the leadership of the party.
“The Flagbearer of the party has the confidence of the party and I believe that he will use the structures of the party to come up with certain decisions that he has for us, so let us wait and at least respect the leadership of the party.
“We should not, we should not go out of our way to deliberate ourselves, we should not go out of our way to describe ourselves in a manner that will be unacceptable.” He said
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com