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Before the December 7th polls, the Foreign Affairs Minister whilst campaigning against the Ghanaian actor said: "parliament is for serious minded people and not people who have done some movies and think they are popular".
The member of parliament for the Anyaa-Sowutuom constituency who was then touring the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency with the President, also emphasized that "it is a serious place; I will tell him; the laws of the country are enacted in parliament".
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Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey
"If our President can continue his job very well, he needs Lydia Alhassan in Parliament to do the job so that all you need as a constituency will be easily given to you," Hon. Shirley Ayorkor-Botchway concluded.
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Shirley's comment was met with backlash mostly from players of the Creative Arts Industry such as Zapp Mallet among others who describe her comment as disrespect to the Ghanaian Creative Arts fraternity.
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John Dumelo
However, in her defense via a press statement, the minister denied any wrong doing, saying her comment was only targeted at Joh Dumelo and not the entire movie industry, stating that she has always supported the industry.
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Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey Press Statement
Shirley's comment further stirred controversy after some actors stormed the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency to also campaign against John Dumelo.
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Actors Campaign against John Dumelo
In new report by 3news.com, Prince David Osei, who was among the actors who stormed the constituency to campaign against John Dumelo says the Minister must apologize for her comment.
The website quoted him to have said that "it was just an unfortunate comment. I condemned it but as I said earlier on, people say all sorts of unpalatable stuff when they are campaigning to win power. Sometimes we regret what we had earlier said. She must openly apologize for that unfortunate comment.
However, John Dumelo who has lost the election to the incumbent MP, Hon. Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has not spoken yet.