The outgoing Member of Parliament for Tema West, Carlos Kingsley Ahenkorah, has expressed his disappointment in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for failing to recognise and reward him despite his significant contributions and sacrifices to the New Patriotic Party.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, January 6, 2025, on UTV, Carlos Ahenkorah expressed his pain stating that the President did not appreciate or acknowledge his actions when he snatched ballot papers during the election of a Speaker at the inauguration of the 8th Parliament.
“I did what I did for the interest of the party and the benefit of Akufo-Addo’s government. Although I regretted my actions as they affected my family members and kids after it went viral on social media, I never regret doing that for my party,” he said.
The lawmaker, explaining and justifying his actions, said he took that decisive step for the party’s interest and the sole benefit of Akufo-Addo’s government.
He added that having a Speaker of their party’s choice would have significantly facilitated their government’s business without undue stress and would have also played a crucial role in helping them win the recently held general elections emphatically.
“What I did was not wrong but what pains me the most is Akufo-Addo didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t commit that act for myself but for Akufo-Addo, that is why I won’t do it again.
“If we had succeeded in getting our candidate to become the Speaker due to my actions, it would have helped us win the 2024 general elections massively,” he added.
Carlos Ahenkorah attributed Alban Bagbin’s nomination by President-elect John Dramani Mahama to his contributions in assisting the NDC caucus in Parliament to fulfill their agenda and disrupt the ruling government’s efforts in executing its tasks.
He added, “Bagbin has been nominated by Mahama to be retained as Speaker because he helped the NDC in parliament but the one I committed the act for [Akufo-Addo] did not even see my contributions.”
Background
On the morning of January 7, 2021, Carlos Ahenkorah did the unexpected in Parliament when he snatched uncounted ballot papers during the Speaker of Parliament elections and attempted to flee with them.
This occurred after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament began celebrating what they anticipated would be a victory in their favor.
Carlos Ahenkorah ran to the table during the counting and snatched the ballots for Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, attempting to flee with them.
However, he was quickly chased, accosted at the entrance of the parliamentary chamber, and physically confronted by some NDC MPs.
