NPP hold meeting over unfolding impasse
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The media and political space has in recent weeks been inundated with conversations bordering on the continuous absence of Dome – Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, from Parliament.
Two New Patriotic Party Members of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong and Michael Okyere Baafi have accused Adwoa Safo of holding the party to ransom.
Whiles it is unclear what may have led to the current controversy surrounding her absence, both MPs have indicated that the ‘absentee’ MP wants to be made Deputy Majority Leader before she returns to parliament.
Joy News reporter, Elton John Brobbey speaking on news programme, Top Story, listed three factors that may have contributed to this impasse.
According to him, the first is Sarah Adwoa Safo’s discontent of not being allowed to go unopposed in the NPP Parliamentary primaries in the lead up to the 2020 general elections as was done for the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu.
It will be recalled that Sarah Adwoa Safo faced stiff competition from Mike Ocquaye Jnr, only beating him with eight votes to emerge as the NPP parliamentary candidate for Dome-Kwabenya.
“Information we are picking is that the sentiments started immediately after the parliamentary primaries in her constituency that is, Dome-Kwabenya constituency.
"What I am picking is that she felt she was not given the needed protection as was accorded Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the First Deputy Speaker then, because she was the then Deputy Majority Leader.
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Eventually, Adwoa Safo had to fight her way through the primaries, defeating the son of the then speaker of Parliament Professor Mike Ocquaye, who son was then serving as Ghana's Ambassador to India.
"She made that position quite clear to the President that she was not happy with the way she was treated against what was accorded the Majority Leader, the First Deputy Speaker, and some other members of parliament during the parliamentary primaries” Elton Brobbey reported.
The journalist continued that, “that aside, the issue about the sacking of the national coordinator for the National School Feeding program, Gertrude Quarshigah and then the directive from the presidency for her to rescind that decision within 48hours also was one of the triggers.”
Elton Brobbey also mentioned that Adwoa Safo’s inability to secure the Deputy Majority Leader position together with being a Minister of State, as she previously held as being a contributory factor to the current impasse.
“Finally her request to be given a Minister of State [not for Gender and Children’s Affairs] and Deputy Majority Leader all went unresponded [sic]. So these are the issues that may have culminated in the current situation as we have it now. It started as a cold war and then it became obvious that she wasn’t going to play ball with the NPP Majority in Parliament and the government on one side,” he explained.
View her Timepath below:
