The National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Yamin has disclosed that the party will definitely find the Members of Parliament who voted to approve ministerial nominees last Friday.
He said the party will fish out all those lawmakers who went against the NDC directive to approve the Ministers appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Speaking to Citi FM, Mr. Yamin said the party will punish those who will be found culpable to serve as a deterrent.
“We won’t create a platform for you to be able to get to the house, only for you to turn against the actions and directives. We will not stop until we fish out who and who [did that] and if we find out, it’s going to be a step to deter others. We sometimes behave as if we are the only political party in this country.
Mr. Yamin recalled, “I remember that when the NPP MPs decided that the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta should step down, the Minority supported their claim, and a decision was to be taken on the floor of Parliament. A directive from the head office of the NPP to the very MPs who said that the Finance Minister should resign asking them to go by the party’s position, and they did”.
Following six new ministers appointed by the President and their subsequent vetting, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) earlier asked all its MPs not to support the approval of the nominees.
Relatedly, the NDC MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga disputed suggestions that some of his colleagues took money to approve the ministers.
Speaking on Accra based Citi TV, he said the lobbying skills of the nominees heled sway some of his colleagues to vote for them.
He said though the allegations are being bandied around after the nominees were approved by the Majority and many Minority MPs despite an explicit order to them by the National Democratic Congress leadership to reject the ministers, he has no evidence to the effect that money changed hands for votes.
“The numbers that voted to approve the nominees shocked me, but I can tell you that the nominees lobbied very hard, and it is one of the reasons that informed the [NDC] party to issue a statement to the Minority not to approve the nominees because the party found out that the Minority MPs were not finding it easy to resist the lobbying.”
He sharply added: “It wasn’t entirely money because I heard people say some members took money from the nominees, but I don’t have evidence that people took money, and so I am careful about saying things like that. But I know that the nominees lobbied very hard and appealed to the relationships that they have with people in the Chamber.”
All six nominees were approved after a secret vote on Friday, March 24, flouting the directive of the NDC leadership.
