Following the resignation of Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsufrom his role in Ghana’s Parliament, his Deputy, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin is likely to take up the role.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu announced his resignation during a meeting held between the Majority Caucus and President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, the official Seat of Government.
The meeting was ostensibly to dialogue and build consensus among the Caucus, leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Presidency on a possible restructuring of the composition of the current Leadership of the Majority.
Deep-throats in attendance at the meeting said after the usual protocol courtesies and exchange of warm felicitations, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Members of Parliament present for honouring his invitation and explained to them the motivation behind the recent Ministerial reshuffle.
Nana Akufo-Addo was reported to have explained to the Caucus that there is not a single decision on recent appointments in his government he had taken without first consulting with the Party’s leadership.
The President reportedly explained further that in very recent times he had met in person with Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and the two of them had very fruitful deliberations on the composition of the Majority Leadership and what possible directions it should take.
Mr. President was said to have eloquently eulogized Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu and said the two of them had grown and fortified a cordial relationship since 1995 and the discussions they had at the recent meeting was devoid of malice
The General Secretary, Justine Kodua Frimpong, was reported to have been the next to speak and he corroborated what the President had said regarding consulting the Party before decisions are taken regarding appointments or quit notices.
It was then the turn of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to speak and after his usual hallmark or waxing lyrical, announced his resignation as Majority Leader, decision which he described as “voluntary”
The stepping aside of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu demands the immediate need for a new Majority Leader to be named and the obvious heir apparent the current Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who doubles as the Member of Parliament for the Effutu Constituency in the Central Region. He stands tall way above any possible contender and has the unhidden support of a majority of the Majority Group.
The elevation and official coronation of Afenyo-Markin as Majority Leader would first have to be communicated to the Party’s National Council and the National Executive Committee for the decision to be taken in consultation and agreement with the Majority Caucus.
The said meetings are expected to be held at the Alisa Hotel in Accra on Friday February 23 by 9:00 AM
This portal has gathered on good authority that Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu would be made a Minister at the Presidency and has already been officially announced as the head of the party’s Election 2024 policy and manifesto team.
Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has served in the ranks of the NPPs parliamentary leadership for 23 years and two months in total. In this period, he was Majority Leader for 15 years and two months, deputy leader for four years and chief whip for four years.
New leader
The choice of Afenyo-Markin as Majority Leader has been largely applauded. He is an accomplished lawyer and entrepreneur in his early forties and occupies a Constituency that he has successfully turned into a safe seat for the NPP.
Afenyo-Markin hails from both the Central Region and Volta Region and he is largely seen by the rank and file of the NPP as strategic.
Political analysts also point out that the NPP vice-presidential running mate is likely to come from the Ashanti Region and that the NDC’s John Mahama is also poised to announce Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, who is from the Central Region, as his running mate.
The importance of Central as a swing region, especially in determining which party holds a majority of parliamentary seats, makes Afenyo-Markin’s elevation one of the most strategic decisions the NPP will make in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.
