Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is asking the leadership of New Patriotic Party (NPP) to put in place a policy that will prevent any party member from challenging him in the party’s primaries.
[contextly_sidebar id=”Vn1tPtATBZxNPw6m5YBb10V9EQcDZS4v”]Mensah Bonsu said the practice where the party allows its leader in Parliament to be challenged is undemocratic.
Speaking to Citi News on the back of reports that a number of aspirants have filed their nominations to contest him on June 13, the Suame Member of Parliament (MP) said the party must come to his rescue by instituting such a policy which would disallow people from contesting him.
He said he is concerned that the NPP does have such a policy.
Mensah Bonsu questioned why Minority leaders in 2000 and 2004 were allowed to go unopposed through the intervention of the party’s leader, President John Kufuor but subsequent Minority leaders including him have been left to their fate.
“What I do know is that in 2000, some people descended on JH Mensah, the party came to protect him because he was the Minority leader and it cannot be done. In 2004, the same thing happened to Felix Owusu Agyapong and the President at the time called people, invited them to the castle and resolved this matter,” he said.
“Unfortunately, when it happened to Osei Adu, nobody came to his rescue and it’s happening to Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu – it’s like let him fight his own cause. That is my concern,” he remarked.
“As Minority leader, anybody can come from nowhere and say that ‘I want to contest you’ and I think the party should have a policy on that so I’m concerned,” he added.
Asked about the number of supporters his possible contender has, Kyei Mensah Bonsu retorted saying, “a man who goes and rents some crowd from Asawase and puts them on a pay loader? The battle is on the ground!”
Kyei Mensah Bonsu claimed that his contender is not a known and active member of the NPP but quickly added that “it’s not for me to pronounce on that but I will leave it to the party to make that pronouncement.”
The Minority leader added that he will win the election saying, “Isha Allah! I am extremely confident.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @osamidan