NPP primaries: ‘It's a thankless job’ – Defeated Assibey-Yeboah laments

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Finance, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, has said being a Member of Parliament is a “thankless” job because “the more you sacrifice, the more you’re not appreciated”.

The New Juaben South MP who lost his ticket to the CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Board, Mr Michael Okyere Baafi, in the governing New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary primaries held on Saturday, 20 June 2020, said: “The truth of the matter is that, this job we do is thankless and the more you sacrifice, the more people do not appreciate and, so, in truth, you’ll see that going forward, you wouldn’t have longevity in parliament – people going for four, five terms, is going to be a thing of the past”.

In his view, “after a term or two, you can’t satisfy the constituents and they want a new face; I’m telling you, we’re not going to see the end of this attrition. It’s going to continue and continue and continue, and, so, I’m not surprised that most of my colleagues are losing because you can’t satisfy the people; people come in promising heaven and they fall by the same dagger”, he told Abena Owusu Nyamekye on Accra-based Citi TV when asked about what he made of the defeat of many incumbents, including himself.

Dr Assibey-Yeboah also said he does not believe he should have been protected in the contest

“I don’t believe in protection”.

“I believe in competitive elections. What has happened in New Juaben is welcome because if I’ve been protected, then it means the party would’ve denied Michael Okyere Baafi, who is actually the ‘Darling Boy’ of the constituents now, the opportunity to go to Parliament”.

He rallied support for the Ghana Free Zones Board CEO.

“This is an internal fight; the best man won. Everybody should rally around him – Mr Michael Okyere Baafi. I think we are one big family and the better candidate won this time round”, he said.

According to him, “No one can impose himself as an MP”, adding: “The delegates decide”.

“This is not an entitlement”, he noted, indicating: “I like the way I’ve done my politics and I don’t think that if I continue, I’m going to change it”.