The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, A.B.A. Fuseini, has indicated that the Minority in Parliament may result to legal means to “redeem” the image of northerners following ethnocentric comments by the Deputy Agriculture Minister, William Quaitoo.
In a Citi News interview, the National Democratic Congress MP said: “I want to assure you that the Minority will go to every length to make sure that we take legal, legitimate and appropriate measures to redeem our image.”
[contextly_sidebar id=”0iWnbjNpvN5nK3m7ONhznU5rDFoZ28Tj”]”He has already put these damaging things in the public domain and many people are going to go away with the impression that we from the three northern regions are a bunch of fraudulent people and thieves so we have to take every legitimate step to redeem that image.”
The Deputy Minister, in an interview on Star FM, suggested farmers in the northern part of the Ghana could not be trusted in their assessment of the destruction brought on by armyworms and that calls for compensation were simply a ploy to fleece the government.
NPP members also upset
Mr. Fuseini further noted that some northerners within the governing New Patriotic Party are also upset with Mr. Quaitoo’s comments.
“Even in the governing party [New Patriotic Party], I have spoken to some of our colleagues who are extremely upset and very angry about that statement… decent members within their ranks, who are northerners, will feel a sense of revulsion about what they are doing now.”
“Every single northerner with dignity will not stand and allow this statement to go without an answer,” the Sagnarigu MP added.
Quaitoo must resign or be sacked
The only thing that will satisfy Mr. Fuseini and the NDC Minority is either the resignation of Mr. Quaitoo from his portfolio or President Akufo-Addo taking the decision to axe the minister.
“We are demanding that he should, immediately, on his own volition resign as a minister and quit from parliament failing which the President must sack him to show his revulsion against such ethnocentric tribal bigotry,” He also stated in the Citi News interview.
This is despite Mr. Quaitoo releasing a statement apologising for his comments. Mr. Quaitoo, in his apology, said he meant to say “some farmers can be difficult.”
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Umaru Sanda Amadu/Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana