Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s decision to step down as Majority Leader has greatly angered Joseph Osei-Owusu, also known as Joewise, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Member of Parliament for Bekwai.
Osei-Owusu, who was proud of the former Majority Leader’s adventures, wished Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu had continued to the very end.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu announced his voluntary resignation from his position with immediate effect on Wednesday, February 21, during a pivotal meeting of the majority group.
President Nana Akufo-Addo called the meeting, which was held in the banquet hall of the Jubilee House in Accra, under strict security.
The majority of the group’s members attended the meeting, which was called amid growing hostilities within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary group. Internal strife was exacerbated by rumors that Alexander Afenyo-Markin was to take Kyei Mensah-Bonsu’s place.
“I am personally disappointed that Kyei decided to stand down. He has been a fantastic leader and he is an extremely hardworking person. I would have wished that he stayed on to the end,” the Bekwai MP said in a statement to journalists on Thursday, February 22 in Parliament.
When asked if the departing Majority Leader was pressured to step down, the First Deputy Speaker flatly refused, emphasizing that he lacked the authority to draw such conclusions.
“I have no basis for that conclusion, and I don’t have any such information,” he declared. Only a few hours after his resignation, Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was named Chairman of the Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia Manifesto Committee.
The committee will be tasked with creating a workable 2024 manifesto by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the party’s 2016 and 2020 manifestos and involving all pertinent parties.
