Manchester United defender, Harry Maguire, has responded graciously to a public apology from the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo.
The MP had earlier compared Maguire’s on-field performance to Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, labeling both as huge under-performers and flops.
Maguire, at the time of Adongo’s initial evaluation during last year’s budget debate, was under-performing for the Red Devils and was even ‘scoring own goals,’ prompting a comparison with Dr Bawumia under whose watch as the head of the Economic Management Team, the country’s economy has taken a nose dive.
But a year down the line, Mr Adongo has acknowledged Maguire’s turnaround in form and issued an unconditional apology to him.
Contributing to the debate on the 2024 Budget statement and economic policy document, Mr Adongo, humorously noted Maguire’s transformation and recognized his current success with Manchester United.
“Will you prefer Mr Mahama’s economy where you were drinking your kalyppo for 50 pesewas, to your (era)… where you are buying that Kalyppo for GH₵6? Which do you prefer? You have inflated your revenue by over GH₵40 billion so that you can now project expenditure of GH₵226 billion so you can have GH₵40 billion cushion for reckless expenditure in an election year, that is all that you have done.”
“Mr Speaker you remember that last year, I was very quick to compare my big brother, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to Harry Maguire. Mr Speaker, I am now apologising to Harry Maguire. Today Maguire has turned, he is a transformational footballer,” Adongo said.
“Harry Maguire is now scoring goals for Manchester United. Harry Maguire is now a key player for Manchester, as for our Maguire [Dr Bawumia], he is now roaming at the IMF with a cup in hand. As for our economic Maguire, he was able to get our pensioners to leave their homes and come and parade in the streets,” he added.
The video of this apology went viral, prompting Maguire to respond on social media.
“MP Issac Adongo apology accepted. See you at Old Trafford soon,” Maguire tweeted in response to a post on ‘X’ sharing the video.
Maguire, who has experienced an upturn in his performances for Manchester United, has become a key figure in the team. He displaced Raphael Varane in the starting lineup under manager Erik ten Hag.
Maguire is expected to return to club football with Manchester United after England’s qualification for the 2024 European Championships when they face Everton in the upcoming Premier League fixture.