How long do you intend to protect sitting MPs – NPP questioned
A Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Dr Seidu Alidu, has asked the New Patriotic Party not to protect any sitting Member of Parliament (MP) in its upcoming parliamentary primaries.
According to him, the move will be a recipe for disaster and will breed of voter apathy.
The Majority Leader and MP for Suame, Joseph Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu in a viral video asked the leadership of his party to protect his seat and that of the Minister of Education.
According to him, MP’s who double as Ministers of State are immensely involved in government business and may not be able to visit their constituencies as often as they should.
“It will affect this government greatly if I am contested,” he said
Some chiefs in the Suame constituency have also thrown their weight behind his candidature
“We the chiefs are not doing politics, but in the interest of the development of Suame which has now been made a Municipality, we know Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu’s continues stay in Parliament will be in our best interest.
“We want the party leadership to make him contest unopposed, we are throwing our support behind the Majority Leader. With what he’s done for this constituency we’ll do ourselves a great disservice if we don’t ensure that he’s protected to stay in Parliament.
“Every one of us Chiefs is going to urge his people irrespective of whether they are NDC, CPP or PNC sympathizers to massively support the candidature of Hon. Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu,” some of them were reported as saying.
The Second National Vice-Chair of the NPP, Frederick F. Anto has also rooted for Kyei Mensah-Bonsu to go unopposed in the party’s upcoming primaries scheduled for April 2020.
But Dr. Alidu speaking on Joynews’s Newsfile, monitored by theghanareport.com , says, shielding the sitting MP means suppressing the interest of others who may have their eyes on the seat
“Delegates should be allowed to choose who they want to represent them. if you say let’s protect them, for how long are you going to protect him……. I was even thinking in the Ashanti Region that is where the NPP should open up for contest because it is a done deal
“If you know you have done incredibly well, how are you afraid of contest and it doesn’t mean that once you’re out of Parliament then your job is done, you can provide advice to others” he noted.
The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has also refuted claims sitting MPs in the Ashanti Region will be allowed to go unopposed in the party’s impending primaries.
NPP primaries: I’m being denied nomination forms – Addai-Nimoh
Ashanti Region NPP Parliamentary primaries : some aspirants lament inability to pick forms
NPP parliamentary forms play catch me if you can with challengers to bigwigs
I think all the forms should be picked from the NPP HQs unconditionally , and the submission date extended in view of this dangerous situation prevailing .
This idea was mooted by Mr Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu.
But without him in Parliament , NPP Government can function . NPP has a large reservoir of brains .