‘I was very surprised’ – Atta Akyea reacts to Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s resignation

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy, Samuel Atta Akyea, has disclosed that the resignation of majority leader Ose Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu came to him as a big surprise.

The Akim Abuakwa-South Member of Parliament underscored that the timing for Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to step down is not favorable to the party, describing it as a “precarious situation.”

In an interview with Accra-based Asempa FM, the former Minister for Works and Housing said, “I was very surprised because I felt considering the times we are in, we can’t do things like that. Because our situation is a bit precarious if you look at our numbers and that of the NDC. And I felt it was too late in the day to make changes to crash our unity. So I was a bit surprised it happened.”

Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s resignation comes at a time when there are growing tensions between the parliamentary group of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the national leadership.

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, according to 3News sources, tendered his resignation as the Majority Leader for the NPP Caucus in Parliament before a scheduled crunch meeting convened by President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House in the late hours of Wednesday, February 21.

But Cletus Avoka, MP for Zebilla, also reacting to the development on Ghana Tonight on TV3, said, “I am hugely disappointed,” adding that the exit of Mr. Kye-Mensah-Bonsu will be a great disservice not only to the NPP party but to Ghana as a whole.

“I do not think that given just about 10 months to the election and some acknowledgment for the exit, as he has decided not to contest the 2024 elections like myself, I do not think that this is the way he should exit, I think that he should exit in a more elegant and befitting manner,” said Mr. Avoka.

It is, however, unclear what might have necessitated the decision by Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to resign as the majority leader.

Meanwhile, Hon. Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has been named as the 2024 Manifesto committee chair for the Bawumia campaign ahead of the December 7, 2024 elections.