One of the leading members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who have declared their intentions to run for the flagbearer position of the party, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, has said that if he was the president, Ken Ofori-Atta would have long lost his job by now.
According to him, it is enough that there are many disgruntled members of the party, mainly their Members of Parliament, who have expressed their no-confidence in the performance of the Minister of Finance.
He added that were he in the shoes of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, what he would have done was to give into their demands and get the finance minister off the job, a report by citinewsroom.com has said.
“If I were the president [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo], I would have listened to the MPs and sacked Ofori-Atta,” he is quoted to have said in an interview with GTV.
It will be recalled that there were over 80 MPs on the Majority side of parliament who recently addressed the press, announcing their disaffection with the Minister of Finance.
The MPs then called on the president to sack Ken Ofori-Atta or risk having them no longer participate in any government business that would be brought before parliament.
Although this is yet to happen, as President Akufo-Addo has severally indicated that he finds nothing wrong with the work of his appointee, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku has said that there is the need for the president to examine the sentiments of the MPs and those of the general public.
“In politics, you have to be sensitive to public opinion. Sometimes, it may not be the truth, but that is the sentiments, and the sentiments of the people need to be examined, and acted upon if it is possible. It’s a great deal for the NPP MPs to come out there to say they don’t want our finance minister, their own Finance Minister that they have worked with in the past.
“In democracy, we have to be sensitive to the people. Lack of action exacerbates the problem, so you cut it off and cut your losses and I would have cut my losses and said please you have done enough, the environment is hostile to you so go. I would have changed him,” he is quoted to have said.
The race for the top-spot of the NPP party elections is yet to be officially opened but so far, a number of names have popped up, indicating that they are also interested in the spot.
Some of the names that come up have been Alan Kyerematen, the immediate-past Minister of Trade and Industry; Dr Akoto Owusu Afriyie, the former Minister of Food and Agriculture; Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Ashanti Mampong; and the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
