A two-week long impasse over the appointment of new leadership of the Minority caucus has finally been resolved by the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The announcement from the Council of Elders chairperson, Alhaji Mahama Iddrissu after a meeting with the Minority MPs on Monday comes a day before Parliament resumes from recess on Tuesday, February 7.
Earlier on Monday, the Asawase MP and former Minority Chip Whip, Hon. Muntaka Mubarak disclosed via a Facebook post that former president Mahama’s “intervention has brought an end to all the brouhaha associated with the reshuffle”. Being one of the minority leaders affected by the reshuffle, Mr. Muntaka assured supporters and rank and file of the NDC of his utmost co-operation with the new leadership under Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and urged members of the party “to move on as a party and channel all our energies towards 2024 elections”.
Addressing the meeting which was attended by the chairman of the party, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Members of the Council of Elders and NDC Members of Parliament, Hon. Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the MP for Bolgatanga East who was a member of the aggrieved NDC MPs explained that their petition was never to advance the cause or settle a score with anyone. “When we sent the petition to the Council of Elders, I emphasized one thing that this petition was not about the new leadership…it was about the right of the caucus to be consulted”, the astute legal practitioner stressed. On behalf of the his colleagues, Hon. Ayine declared that “we are going to stand solidly behind Ato Forson and his leadership. There will be no turning back from what has happened today. God bless the NDC and God bless Ghana”. The meeting was also to formally introduce the new leadership of the Minority Caucus to the MPs
The NDC leadership on January 24, 2023 through a statement from the General Secretary, Mr. Fifi Fiavi Kwetey announced a major shakeup in the front bench of its composition in Parliament. The Ajumako-Enyan- Esiam MP, Hon. Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson took over from Hon. Haruna Iddrisu as the new Minority leader with Hon. Armah Kofi Buah as his deputy, replacing the outgoing Ketu North MP Hon. James Klutse Avedzi. Hon. Kwame Agbodza also replaced Hon. Muntaka Mubarak as the new Minority Chip Whip. Hon Ahmed Ibrahim and Hon. Comfort Doyoe-Ghansah were however retained as first and second deputy Chip Whips respectively.
In press statement issued shortly after the meeting on Monday, the Council of Elders noted that it acknowledges the concerns raised against the appointments, with particular reference to due consultations, and called on the party’s leadership to take measures in addressing them to avert similar occurrences in the future. “While recognizing that the party leadership was within its rights to make appointments or rotate the leadership of the NDC caucus in Parliament as has been the case since the inception of the Parliament of the 4th Republic, the Council is of the view that the processes need to be improved. Accordingly, the Council noted that in the instant case, the approach, level of consultation, timing as well as the mode and manner of notifying the affected persons could have been better”, the statement added.
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