Osei Kyei Mensah- Bonsu, Minority Leader in Parliament
The Minority Leader in Parliament Osei Kyei Mensah- Bonsu has said he foresaw the suspended National Chairman of the NPP, Paul Afoko having difficulties in managing the party even before he assumed that role.
According to him, the fact that Mr Afoko had not been in mainstream politics and not involved in any level of the party over the years was sure to cause him problems steering the party.
Mr Mr Afoko is in court challenging his indefinite suspension from the party, arguing it was illegal.
The NPP’s National Executive Committee suspended him in October 2015 for “misconduct.”
According to him, the action and processes leading to his suspension by some elements of the party were unconstitutional and a breach of natural justice.
The decision was adopted by the party’s National Council, which is the second highest decision making body of the party after congress but he maintains the party erred in the decision.
Speaking to Bola Ray on Starr Chat on Starr FM, Hon. Osei- Kyei Mensah- Bonsu stated that he was willing to help Mr Afoko surmount the problems that stared at him.
“In the lead up to this I realized there were challenges on the part of the suspended Chairman when he assumed office because he had not been in mainstream politics, there were bound to be problems. I didn’t know him from Adam until 2008. He himself was not involved in any formal level of the party so there were bound to be problems, but we’re all humans, you can learn and move on and I was willing anytime to sit down with him so we jaw- jaw on issues.
“Honestly I would have loved that we didn’t get into this cul-de-sac, which is what I’m talking about. On an occasion I told him that at meetings there often times that we disagreed on issues and I was telling him that when Jake was the Chairman if anything cropped up if we had to have a Steering Committee meeting or NEC meeting, as recognizes the importance of the Minority Leader as representing an important constituency in the party so he’ll call me to his house or he’ll come to my office for us to discuss the issues before the meeting, Mac Manu did the same thing but Mr Afoko didn’t do that so I said well maybe it’s because we didn’t know each other.
“So I volunteered and I told him one time that I want to come to his house for us to have this engagement so that we get to know ourselves better and I suggested to him that we should be meeting quite frequently, unfortunately that meeting never happened. Later myself, Mr Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong and Nana Akufo Addo had meet few times but that engagements as regular as we wanted it couldn’t hold because of the travel schedules of all of us.”
