By: Yesmeen Abubakar Tetteh.
The Majority Caucus is expected to hold a crunch meeting today with President Akufo-Addo and the leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) over an impending reshuffle of its parliamentary leadership.
Speculations surrounding a potential reshuffle gained momentum over the weekend following news reports that Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the current Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, will be replaced by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the current Deputy Majority Leader.
The reports further added that Frank Annoh Dompreh, the present Majority Chief Whip and MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri will ascend to the role of Deputy Majority Leader, thereby creating space for Habib Iddrisu, the current First Deputy Chief Whip, to assume the position of Majority Chief Whip.
Also, Patricia Appiagyei was named as the First Deputy Majority Chief Whip with the position of Second Deputy Chief Whip being offered to Alex Tetteh Djornobuah, MP for Sefwi-Akontombra.
But in what can be said to be a parliamentary revolt, the First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, who also doubles as the Bekwai MP, insisted that the Caucus had not contemplated any such moves.
“We want to assure you that we have confidence in the leadership and the status quo shall remain, we are aware that upon the nomination of one of the Deputy Whips as a minister, a replacement will be made, that replacement will be made by the caucus when weaved the opportunity and the time to consider the appropriate replacement, this is all the information we have to share,” he said.
He reiterated, “The leadership of the Majority has not changed, we have not contemplated changing and we have no intention to effect any change in the leadership of the majority caucus. The Parliament of Ghana has adopted standing orders that place the selection and change or otherwise of leadership in the hands of the caucus and not anybody inside parliament.”
Asked whether there was an external attempt to remove Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu as the Majority Leader, he answered: “I am not aware of such a thing, nobody has discussed that with the caucus and since nobody has the power to do that outside the caucus there may be rumours and intricacies but we in parliament are not aware of any attempt to remove anybody.”
In what appeared to be a sharp u-turn, the Anyaa Sowutuom MP, Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi who was one of the NPP MPs who joined the First Deputy Speaker’s media briefing on Tuesday, said the caucus would welcome any changes after extensive stakeholder consultations between them and the leadership of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“I am very much in support of reshuffle. I have been in support of it for close to two years. I am of the opinion that when we do reshuffle, it gives other people the opportunity to exhibit what they know and their talents,” Dr Kissi backtracked.
The ongoing confusion has amplified the deep cracks in the Majority Caucus, with some of the NPP MPs already shifting their allegiances to the Afenyo-Markin camp. These MPs are said to be mainly those who won their primaries and will be making a return to the next Parliament. They argue that allowing the Effutu MP to take charge of the Caucus’ leadership at this time will afford him the expertise and experience to steer their affairs in the next Parliament.
However, NPP MPs primarily drawn from the Ashanti Caucus and some MPs who lost their primaries still owe allegiance to the current Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu. Among the arguments for his continuous stay in office is the fact that he has just 8 months to see out his tenure. They make counterarguments that the current longest-serving MP deserves to bow out on a high note considering his enormous wealth of parliamentary service and leadership.
The meeting, scheduled for today, aims to address these speculations and provide clarity on the direction of the majority caucus. It is expected to be a critical juncture where key decisions regarding parliamentary leadership will be deliberated upon.
The meeting will also serve as an opportunity for President Akufo-Addo and NPP leadership to gauge the sentiments and preferences of caucus members regarding the proposed reshuffle.
The meeting to be held at the Jubilee House at 6 pm is expected to be attended by key stakeholders, including the entire membership of the majority caucus, President Akufo-Addo, the NPP leadership, and other influential figures within the party.
Ahead of the meeting, sources have confirmed to newsalertgh.com that the new changes will be confirmed by the President. The social media handles of the Majority caucus in Parliament have also made a Facebook post announcing the changes.
