Minority MPs in Parliament have been criticised by the Majority for failing to show up in Parliament on Saturday.

Describing their colleagues’ behaviour as unpatriotic, Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul wondered how the NDC MPs could bail on an important duty like discussing government’s stimulus package in the wake of coronavirus.

“Everywhere in the world, nations are coming together to fight this coronavirus. People have put politics aside, in fact, politics can wait.

"There is nothing more important than to put partisan politics aside and fight this coronavirus which is invincible energy, as a single united force.

“For the NDC Members of Parliament to boycott parliament at this particular time is uncalled for, unpatriotic and is a stab at the back of Ghanaians,” he said.

Parliament was supposed to sit on Saturday to debate a one billion cedis Coronavirus Alleviation Programme to cushion Ghanaians as government tightens measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

President Akufo-Addo who announced the package on Friday said the amount would lessen the impact of the pandemic on businesses and households as the country enters a partial lockdown starting Monday.

But the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu had hinted on Friday that members on his side will not want to participate in the sitting because they have been overstretched.

Mr Nitiwul said the NDC MPs owe their representatives an explanation for their behaviour.

“In this particular matter, if you are an MP and you are woken up to come and pass a stimulus package to save Ghana from the dangers that we are facing, you should wake up and come and I find it very appalling that the minority MPs will boycott this exercise

“We must make this very clear to the people of Ghana and let the records capture that when the people of Ghana needed the NDC side they boycotted it and that they let them down.

"The US congress sat throughout the night to make sure that they pass a $2 trillion stimulus package for their people,” he added.

The Bimbilla MP called on Ghanaians to demand an apology and explanation from the Minority for reneging on their duty to them.

In these critical times, he said, nothing is more important to the people of Ghana than their survival and while government is trying its best to control the situation, the NDC MPs who should step up and support have refused to.

"…and for any MP to boycott this session, is the most unpatriotic thing anybody can think about. If and indeed the NDC MPs have actually boycotted Parliament, then it is very unpatriotic.”