I advised Carlos and others to remain in Parliament but they refused – Majority Leader

Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has disclosed that he advised Carlos Ahenkorah against leaving parliament.

According to him, he directly urged him against the choice to quit when he learned about it, but the lawmaker ignored him.

His reasoning for advising the Tema West MP to remain in the House was that Carlos was one of the new entrants who may have remained in the House for a few more terms.

In December 2023, the former deputy Minister of Trade stated his intent not to contest for the seat in the 2024 elections.

The Majority Leader was replying to a question about whether some experienced NPP MPs made a collective decision to leave the House.

In his response, he stated that some MPs, including Carlos and Joe Osei Owusu, notified him of their decisions.

He claimed that other MPs, "including the First Deputy Speaker, came to notify me, but I urged him not to do so. OB Amoah also came to inform me. I also talked to Atta Akyea.

“But for Carlos Ahenkorah, I personally spoke with him for several weeks to persuade him to rescind his decision, but he refused. He had just recently joined parliament, but I could tell he was a capable legislator who was contributing value to parliamentary tasks, particularly in trade and industry.

"I tried to persuade several of those who wanted to leave the house to change their minds, but they refused. So, if you’re wondering if we made a collective decision to leave the house, the answer is no.

"I believe all of those who decided not to contest again had carefully considered the issue and made the best decision for themselves,” he added.

Carlos, a freight forwarder and CEO of Carloking Services was elected MP of Tema West after defeating Madam Irene Naa Torshie Addo in a primary with 502 votes to Addo’s 273.