Minority Leader denies endorsement rumours

The Minority Leader in Parliament, Osei-Kyei Mensah- Bonsu, has rebutted the allegation that he had ordered the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) to openly declare their support for Nana Akufo-Addo, who is vying for the flagbearership slot, when the latter launched his campaign in Accra.

Majority of NPP MPs openly declared their unflinching support for Nana Akufo-Addo’s presidential bid, and Mr. Mensah-Bonsu claimed he had been singled out for blame over the declaration.

The Suame MP in Kumasi said, there was no iota of truth in the speculation, adding that those who had decided to nail him should desist from doing so.

Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu recounted that he was in Tanzania on a national duty at the time that Nana Akufo-Addo launched his campaign in Accra and therefore he did not compel the MPs to attend the event and declare for Nana.

He said that the MPs who declared their support for Nana Addo were “mature people who know what is best for them and the people that they represent in Parliament.”

Though he did not mention names, he urged those who had been blaming him for the decision to refrain from doing so since he could not compel any MP to take any such decision.

The Minority Leader stated that even though the National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration was struggling to manage the affairs of the state, the NPP would not win the upcoming presidential polls on a silver platter.

Mr. Kyei Mensah-Bonsu urged the rank and file of the NPP to work hard with unity of purpose, coupled with a rigorous campaign in order for the party to oust President Mahama and the NDC in 2016.

He said the NPP could not win the elections based on its current membership alone, adding that the party needed to stay united so as to attract floating voters to back it.

The Minority Leader noted that the party’s financial strength had reduced sharply from 2008 to date, pointing out that the party would surely have to struggle to get enough money for the campaign in 2016.

In this regard, he proposed that the NPP should settle on a standard bearer aspirant who had been marketed and well known by the Ghanaian electorate to lead the party for the 2016 polls to ensure massive victory.