Kennedy Agyapong Condemns NPP Boycott

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Agyepong, has condemned the decision of the Minority in Parliament to boycott the vetting of presidential nominees for ministerial positions. Mr Agyapong said the decision of the Minority was imposed on them by the National Executive of the NPP, and blamed his colleagues for allowing the national executive of the party to dictate to them on the matter. Speaking on Kumasi-based Nhyira FM on Saturday, Mr Agyepong forcefully argued that the absence of the Minority on the Appointments Committee of Parliament was "a bad one" because it had given the nominees a field day to walk through the vetting without any difficulty. He said if the Minority had participated in the vetting, they would have stripped some of the nominees naked and submitted that their own unpopular decision to boycott the proceedings had thrown everything overboard. Mr Agyepong wondered whether the Minority could not take their own decision regarding their participation in the vetting. He said the National Executive of the NPP was not helping the party in any way. He was of the view that since the national executive did not contribute anything to the campaigning of the parliamentary candidates, the party leadership should have allowed the Members of Parliament on the Minority side to take their own decision. Mr Agyepong said he would have challenged the decision by the National Executive of the NPP but for the fact that he had travelled to Sierra Leone. He said majority of the party's supporters were strongly against the boycott of the parliamentary vetting. He said it was difficult to appreciate the fact that Minority MPs collected the money for accommodation only for them not to take part in the vetting. Mr Agyepong said the NDC Majority were making a mockery of the Minority because of the boycott. Mr Agyepong said once the NPP was in court challenging the results of the 2012 presidential elections, there was no need for the boycott of the vetting. He, however, supported the case at the Supreme Court, since he believed the presidential election was cooked for the NDC.