Member of Parliament (MP) for the Sekondi Constituency, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has rubbished calls for New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to apologise to Ghanaians over the economic hardship.

In an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem on Monday, the Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture said the calls were unwarranted.

There have been calls for President Akufo-Addo and Dr Bawumia to apologise to Ghanaians for the economic crisis.

• Read also: Ghanaians want apology from Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Ofori-Atta – Mahama

Amidst the intensified calls, Finance Minister, Mohammed Amin Adam on August 6 rendered an apology regarding the hardships caused by the Domestic Debt Exchange Program (DDEP).

Though Dr Amin was commended for the move, some Ghanaians, including former President John Mahama asserted that the apology shouldn’t have come from him.

However, Mr Mercer has questioned the crime the Vice President has committed to require an apology, citing the economic hardships were partly caused by external factors.

“Dr Bawumia has not distanced himself from the challenges but has acknowledged them and you sometimes need to make difficult decisions in such situations. So which of the decisions that have brought about the economic hardships can we attribute to government and also external forces?” he quizzed.

The lawmaker emphasised that the NPP flagbearer is ready and committed to shape and rebuild Ghana.

“If we take the freight cost for instance it was largely attributed to the disruption in supply chain from the Russia-Ukraine war. So is the government’s response to apologise for this? Instead, the response is to put in place measures and social policies to support the people and alleviate the impact,” he stated.