Ghanaians don’t want to see us fighting – Ablakwa rallies NDC MPs amid Haruna-Ato Forson saga

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu has appealed to his colleague MPs in the Minority caucus that the overarching objective of winning power and saving Ghanaians from the hardship of the NPP government should remain the focus of the party.

In the wake of the brouhaha surrounding the reshuffling of the leadership of the minority, Okudzeto Ablakwa has reminded the minority caucus and the entire NDC that Ghanaians have their eyes set on them to help wheel them out of the struggles.

Ablakwa in a Joy News interview said he will not be drawn into picking sides in the rancour that has set MPs on the side of either the ousted minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu or the newly-installed leader, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.

Ablakwa says that behind the scenes, he is working with other members of the caucus to resolve the issues and restore calm.

He, however, agrees with calls for extensive engagement within the various layers of the party.

“My honest view in this whole brouhaha is that we must put party interest first and we must stop taking sides. It should not be about who you support or do not support. We are all colleagues and belong to a team, can we all engage.

“Colleagues are concerned that they saw the announcement in the media. Legitimately, colleagues deserve to be engaged by the party. I think that’s what we should be doing. I’ve heard the General Secretary say that because we are on recess and many of us are in our constituencies that is why they wanted the communication to go to the speaker. They don’t know how it got leaked.

“Clearly, the process has not gone smoothly. Instead of taking sides which will not help internal party cohesion, let us all engage. I want to be seen as one who contributed to easing tensions and calming nerves and not one who inflamed tensions and deepened cracks. Every camp has their support and once you say that you are for this side, you lose that credibility.

“Behind the scenes, some of us are trying to bring everybody together. We are in crisis. Never in history have we faced a domestic debt exchange. It has never happened. See the COVID-19 report. Ghanaians are looking at us. These are the issues that are germane to the Ghanaian people. They don’t want us to see in internal bickering and point scoring and acrimony. It's major disservice to the Ghanaian people,” he said.

General Secretary of the NDC on January 23 sent a letter to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, in which he disclosed some changes in its leadership in parliament.

A former deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, has been appointed as the Minority Leader, as replacement for Haruna Iddrisu.

Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah has also been named as the new Deputy Minority Chief Whip. Kwame Agbodza takes over as Chief Whip. Ahmed Ibrahim, MP for Banda, has been maintained as the First Deputy Minority Chief Whip, while Comfort Doyo Cudjoe-Ghansah, MP for Ada, is the Second Deputy Minority Chief Whip.

The announcement has highlighted the deep cracks in the minority with entrenched position for and against the move by the National Executive Council.