Ahead of the primaries of the National Democratic Congress primaries on Saturday November 21, 2015, some parliamentary
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Minority leader campaigns for Alban Bagbin
According to Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, attempts to get the veteran MP out of parliament will be an indictment on Ghana's democracy.
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aspirants seem to have the blessings and support from some stalwarts of the opposition New Patriotic Party.
The Minority leader in parliament Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has mounted a strong campaign for the majority leader, Alban Bagbin to be retained as the parliamentary candidate of the NDC in the Nadowli -Kaleo constituency in the Upper West region.
Read more: I'll pray and fast for Bagbin - Mensah-Bonsu
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According to Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, attempts to get the veteran MP out of parliament will be an indictment on Ghana's democracy.
The MP for Nadowli-Kaleo, who is seeking for a seventh term in the Chamber in the 2016 elections, is one of the longest-serving parliamentarians in Ghana.
Speaking to Accra-based Citi Fm, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said “We should be looking at experience. We should be looking at wisdom and who is better positioned to perform the functions of an MP. If you want to contest the majority leader you should look at yourself if you can perform better than your majority leader.”
“I’m matured enough to see and appreciate quality. He is under siege. What is proper should be deemed to be proper and should be protected. I have told him … if I’ll have to pray and fast I’ll do that. I’ll support his candidature.”
Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu added that he believes in continuity and so Bagbin, with his requisite experience should be retained.
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“Why do you pill them [experienced MPs] off to substitutes who don’t measure?” Democracy is not an all-comers game. Don’t open the gates at the end of every term to allow entry. It is not done anywhere. Parliament will lose out tremendously if we lose Alban Bagbin.”
Background
During the NPP primaries in a bid to firm his grip on the seat, Mr. Kyei Mensah-Bonsu had advocated for the NPP leadership to institute measures to protect his seat as a leader in parliament, arguing that it was not good for experienced parliamentarians to be ousted since if that happened, it weakened parliamentary business.
His argument was that, new members needed more time to learn on the job and that contributed to slowing down Parliamentary business, but the party did not heed to his call.
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The minority was challenged by Mr Kwadwo Boateng Genfi in the June 13 primaries.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was said to have equated himself to Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Genfi to Bernard Don Bortey of Accra Hearts of Oak fame in football circles and suggested that there was no need for Messi to be substituted for Don Bortey to take over from him.
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