The Deputy Minority Whip has urged New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentarians to be present and vote to remove Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta from office if they have not been bribed.

Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Wednesday, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim stated that failure by the NPP MPs to be present on Thursday to vote would not augur well for their credibility.

“The Majority Leader himself has questioned the House by saying that a businessman brought money that he was coming to bribe them and they sacked him. If truly they didn’t take the money and they sacked the businessman, then they should be present at the chamber to vote and sack the Finance Minister tomorrow,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the New Patriotic Party has directed its Members of Parliament to abstain from the vote of censure against the embattled Finance Minister. 

The party has thus asked the chief whips of the Caucus to ensure the order is complied with. 

In a press release issued on Wednesday and signed by the General Secretary of the party, Mr. Justin Kodua Frimpong, he said the decision was taken after wider consultation with major stakeholders.

But the Banda MP said the NPP MPs must show up.

“To save Ghana and to save the eroding image of Parliament, they must be present in Parliament tomorrow for us to vote and sack the Finance Minister,” he stressed.

Background

On November 1, 2022, the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu revealed that when some of the Majority MPs called for Ken Ofori-Atta’s dismissal, one of Ghana’s wealthy businessmen approached them to plead on behalf of the Minister.

In an interview with JoyNews, the Majority leader explained that in the heat of the arguments in Parliament, the said businessman met some of the legislators and “tried to do something.”

Mr. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu’s assertion was corroborated by the Asante Akim North MP and one of the lead voices for Ken Ofori-Atta’s dismissal, Andy Appiah-Kubi.

Giving a blow-by-blow account, he said the wealthy businessman offered a ‘fat’ envelope which contained some undisclosed amount of money for the MPs to back off from their demand.

The two politicians, however, refused to disclose the identity of the businessman.