Minority NDC MPs
At least some 60 lawmakers from the NDC Minority in Parliament yesterday reportedly signed a petition, calling on the national executives, led by Johnson Asiedu Nketia, to reverse their decision and restore Haruna Iddrisu to his former position as the leader of the caucus.
The opposition MPs also want their colleague for Asawase Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, back to his position, claiming that they have been raffled by the decision to remove them from the parliamentary leadership.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that an emergency meeting was called at the instance of the petition by the 60 MPs in Parliament in which the party’s National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia and the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey were billed to attend.
The calls for the reversal of the decision come on the back of the controversial reshuffle carried out by Mr. Asiedu Nketia and team, which has been described by the NDC MP for Tamale Central, Murtala Mohammed as “unpopular”.
The national executives undertook surprising changes in the party’s parliamentary leadership, choosing to replace charismatic Haruna Iddrisu, who is the NDC MP for Tamale South, with the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, to lead the Minority Caucus.
In a letter dated January 23, 2023 and addressed to the Speaker of Parliament, the NDC said the MP for Ajumako Enyan Esiam would become the new Minority Leader when the House resumes on February 7, 2023.
The letter, signed by the General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said Ato Forson will be deputised by Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah of Ellembelle Constituency.
In furtherance of the covert strategy, the NDC has also dropped its MP for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka as Minority Whip, replacing him with Kwame Governs Agbodza of Adaklu Constituency.
The MP for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim and Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah of Ada Constituency maintained their positions as First Deputy Whip and Second Deputy Whip respectively.
“The new leadership would be charged to recommend consequential changes in the Ranking membership to Headquarters of the party for approval,” the NDC letter noted.
Murtala, who is one of the petitioners, said the removal of Haruna Iddrisu from the Minority leadership would have dire consequences for the party, and therefore, the need to reverse the unpopular decision.
The Tamale Central MP said there was no consultation with the caucus, pointing out that every single member of the Minority was surprised about the decision.
He believes NDC as a democratic party ought to do things in that direction, asserting that the mode of communication also smacked of disrespect, relegating to the background the democratic principles.
However, Mr. Asiedu Nketia explained that the reason for the changes in its parliamentary leadership was part of the “re-organisation process of the NDC to reposition the party better” for the 2024 general election.
According to him, Dr. Ato Forson is the best bet for the NDC since the 2024 general election will be fought on the economy.
“The 2024 election is going to be fought around the economy, so the debate is basically going to be about the economy. So if you are a serious party fighting to win an election. You must put your best foot forward to win the debate,” he argued.
By Ernest Kofi Adu