Dissatisfied NPP MPs tell President to respect earlier roadmap

The dissatisfied New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament seeking the removal of Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, have pleaded with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to respect the earlier roadmap agreed on.

The 98 MPs on October 25, called on President Akufo-Addo to sack Mr Ofori-Atta owing to the current economic crisis in the country.

According to them, the motion would restore hope in the financial sector and reverse the downward trend in the growth of the economy.

As a result, the group threatened to boycott the 2023 Budget Statement and Economic Policy presentation and any other government business in Parliament until the intervention of President Akufo-Addo.

During his intervention, President Akufo-Addo appealed to the group to allow the Minister to conclude the International Monetary Fund (IMF) negotiations and the 2023 Budget presentation before his dismissal.

A statement signed by Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, Majority Leader, said: “We have agreed to accede to the President’s appeal.”

“This means that the issue has been put on hold until the conclusion of the round of negotiations with the IMF and the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy in November 2022 and the subsequent passage of the Appropriation Bill, after which time the demand shall be acted upon,” the statement said.

To that end, the group conformed to the President’s plea and took part in the budget presentation on November 24.

However, the group at a Press Conference in Parliament called on President Akufo-Addo to do the needful.

Mr Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, MP, Asante-Akim North and spokesperson of the dissatisfied MPs, said President Akufo-Addo needed to honour his part of the bargain.

He said: “The budget is the budget of the president but under our position, we agreed with the president to respect a roadmap to address our request and that means that when we get to the end of it, the president will also perform what we asked him to do.”

“We agreed with our president to wait till ABC is done, and we agreed to do that, and now we expect the president to also honour his part of the roadmap,” he said.