3 MPs, others hit back at ‘greedy’ Kennedy Agyapong For attacks on Vice President

Three NPP Members of Parliament (MPs) and some party communicators have hit back at Kennedy Ohene Agyapong for his attacks on Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.

They wondered why Mr Agyapong, a flag bearer aspirant of the NPP has made Dr Bawumia, the frontrunner in the flag bearer race his target subjecting him to a barrage of unprovoked attacks.

The three legislators who have all declared their support for the Vice President in the flag bearer race are Andrew Egyapa Mercer, MP for Sekondi; Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, MP for Takoradi, and Kofi Amankwa-Manu, MP for Atwima-Kwanwoma.

Kennedy’s attacks
Mr Agyapong, who is also the Assin North legislator has said among things that Dr Bawumia is partly to be blamed for Ghana’s economic challenges, which resulted in the country going for an IMF programme .

However, the MPs and a number of party communications disagree, and have lambasted Mr Agyapong for unjustifiably going on that tangent. One of the MPs described him as greedy.

What the 3 MPs said:

Andrew Egyapa Mercer
“If you are measuring Dr Bawumia, you need to start from 2017 to date.” He said the Vice President has no hand in the global economic factors that led to the country’s economic challenges .

“He did not bring COVID-19 and if you think the pandemic did not have an impact on the economy, that is your beef. He stands tall and he is the one to help us break the 8.”

Kofi Amankwa-Manu
He said all NPP MPs who voted for different revenue measures aimed at securing the bailout deal cannot turn around to blame Dr Bawumia who is not an MP.

Speaking on Oyerepa TV, he said, “ If you opposed our IMF approach, you would have voted against it. He cannot absolve himself now having voted for the E-Levy, an IMF conditionality. He has no moral right to absolve himself having gone with the team to agree on the issue.”

Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah
Mr Darko-Mensah, who is also the Western Regional Minister, took a swipe at Mr Agyapong, accusing him of acting in a greedy manner , and unfairly attacking the government and a fellow contender in the NPP race.

Speaking in an interview on Takoradi-based Radio 360 on Monday, July 17, Mr Darko-Mensah insisted that the economic slump was brought about by COVID-19 and that fact has been established by the IMF.

He stated that Mr Agyapong has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of government contracts over the years and that he might as well return those contracts and reject any new ones because of the economic squeeze.

“When things were bad and he was benefitting, that was right, but now that he wants to be a presidential candidate, he has forgotten about all those benefits he derived and wants us to forget about all that?

“Then he should reverse all those contracts he earned and hand them over to others and say because Ghana is now back to the IMF, I will not take any government contract again. If he continues like he is doing then technically you want to act like a greedy person who wants to benefit both ways.”

Agyapong has lost focus
A number of communicators stated on various media platforms that Mr Agyapong has lost focus and it was clear that his campaign has collapsed.

They said it is untenable to attack the government formed by the very political party he wants to lead in the 2024 election.