Afenyo-Markin cautions NPP MPs as group demands action against Appiah Kubi over NAPO comments

Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim North, Andy Kwame Appiah-Kubi, has incurred the wrath of Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin and some NPP members in the Ashanti Region for disparaging the reported choice of Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh as the running mate of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the December 7 elections.

On Accra-based Joy FM on Thursday, June 27, 2024, Mr. Appiah-Kubi launched a furious tirade against Dr. Opoku Prempeh, a.k.a. NAPO.

"I wouldn't speak for the majority because we have not been consulted as a caucus to state our position. But for me, Appiah-Kubi, you can solicit my view on that. If it were up to me to choose, I wouldn't choose him (Napo). He is not my preference," the Asante Akim North MP said.

Majority Leader Disappointed in Appiah-Kubi

Expressing his disappointment with the outburst of the Asante Akim North MP, Mr. Afenyo-Markin told reporters at Parliament House on Thursday, June 27, that as Majority MPs, they all know how running mates are chosen in the party.

"We should all respect party rules. You cannot go out of your way to describe your colleague in a manner that is unacceptable," he charged.

He therefore urged his colleague, the Asante Akim North MP, to be measured in his language, especially in public.

"We are in this together. There is no perfect person in this world. Let us be measured in the language we use. The flagbearer has the confidence of the party, and I believe he will use the structures of the party in making his decisions," he stated.

Call Appiah-Kubi to Order

The MP's comments have also irked a group calling itself Concerned NPP Members in the Ashanti Region, who have called for immediate action against him.

The group called on the leadership of the NPP parliamentary majority and the national leadership of the party to call him to order.

They said that, typical of the Asante Akim North MP, he showed gross disrespect not only to Napo but, worst of all, to the President, the Vice President, and the party at large.

Excellent Choice

The Concerned Ashanti NPP members described Napo as an excellent choice who has the capability not only to support the flagbearer and the party to win resounding victories in the presidential and parliamentary elections but also to become an excellent Vice President.

Taking a look into history, the Concerned NPP members said that when then-candidate Akufo-Addo chose Dr. Bawumia as his running mate, some party members opposed it, but in the end, he proved the critics wrong by being a major architect in the victories of 2016 and 2020, and also by becoming an exceptionally excellent Vice President.

The group, therefore, urged the party to take a serious view of the Asante Akim North MP's outburst to prevent him from derailing the agenda to 'break the 8.'