Former Majority Leader and Suame MP, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has spoken openly about the internal politics within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) that led to his removal, allowing Alexander Afenyo-Markin to assume his position.
In an interview on Asempa FM, monitored by MyNewsGh, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu disclosed that he had been warned in advance about President Akufo-Addo’s intentions.
“Some of my colleagues informed me ahead of time that the president wanted me out. Many MPs encouraged me to fight back, assuring me of their support,” he disclosed.
However, he chose to step down rather than engage in a drawn-out conflict with the president. “I didn’t want to create division within the party. If the NPP lost the elections, I knew I would be blamed, so I decided to leave,” he explained.
He recounted an emergency meeting called by Akufo-Addo before the elections, at a time when John Dramani Mahama had yet to announce his running mate.
According to Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the president expressed concerns about the NPP’s declining influence in the Central Region and the need for a leader who could bolster their presence.
“The president argued that the NDC was gaining ground in the Central Region, especially with Naana Opoku-Agyemang likely to be Mahama’s running mate and Ato Forson taking up the Minority Leader position,” he stated.
Akufo-Addo, he claimed, believed that Afenyo-Markin, who hails from the Central Region, would be a more strategic fit to counterbalance the NDC’s growing influence.
“Most MPs disagreed with this reasoning, but I saw where things were headed. Rather than make things more complicated, I stepped aside,” he added.
