NPP has failed to protect experienced MPs – Anyimadu-Antwi

The Member of Parliament for Asante Akim Central, Kwame Ayimadu-Antwi, has criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for its alleged failure to protect experienced MPs within the majority caucus.

Ayimadu-Antwi, who is currently engaged in a highly competitive race for his seat with Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurial and Innovation Programme, also expressed concern over the departure of 18 experienced MPs, including Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and First Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei Owusu, who have opted not to seek re-election in the upcoming NPP Parliamentary Primaries.

In an exclusive interview with Citi News Parliamentary Correspondent, Nii Ayikwei Okine, Mr Ayimadu-Antwi suggested that the NPP should have emulated the National Democratic Congress (NDC) by protecting experienced members within the caucus.

“Once you stay in Parliament for long, you get to know the law. Look at what the NDC is doing, they protected all the good materials in the party and I thought that the NPP would follow or copy the example of the NDC but I am not seeing that here.

“We have a whole constituency secretary orchestrating a diabolic plan to remove a peaceful member of Parliament,” Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said.

Asked what the NPP should have done to protect experienced MPs, Mr Anyimadu-Antwi responded, “I think that as a democratic party what we can do is to have a very fair and transparent election and with that, the experienced ones will come back to parliament.”

Mr Ofosu Nkansah was on Wednesday, January 10, arrested by the Special Prosecutor for allegedly using funds from the NEIP to fund his campaign.

Felix Amakye, the New Patriotic Party’s Asante Akim Central constituency secretary, had, in an Eyewitness News interview on Citi FM, accused the Asante Akim Central MP of reporting the NEIP CEO to the OSP, a claim the latter vehemently denied.

“I have no clue about what the secretary is alleging, and it is about time for us to do the elections, and the primaries are still around the corner. This is not a do-or-die affair. The secretary has taken sides with one of the contenders and has been speaking passionately, and there is pain in the constituency speaking to delegates.

“If you are talking about reporting anybody to the OSP, I have no idea, but he [Felix Amakye] is on record saying that my preferred candidate has been paying GH¢500,000 and promised to pay GH¢1 million to people, and he said these things on Facebook,” Anyimadu-Antwi explained.