Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, former Member of Parliament for Assin North and Aspiring Presidential Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has revealed how his intervention after the 2020 general elections played a decisive role in securing a parliamentary majority for the party.
In a discussion with party loyalists, Agyapong recounted how his financial support and political negotiations helped the NPP break the parliamentary stalemate with the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to Agyapong, the 2020 parliamentary elections had ended with both the NPP and NDC holding 137 seats each, with one independent Member of Parliament (MP) from Adansi Fomena, Andrews Asiamah Amoako, holding the balance of power.
Agyapong explained how the independent MP had expressed willingness to align with the NPP, but only on the condition that the then Adansi Fomena constituency chairman, Kwasi Nti, resigned from his post due to alleged mistreatment of the MP that had contributed to his independent candidacy.
He emphasized, “Who is going to tell this story to a chairman who was elected through voting that his MP says he doesn’t want him, so he must resign? It took only me, Kennedy Agyapong, to invite Chairman Kwasi Nti to my house and inform him about the situation.”
Agyapong took the initiative to mediate directly, inviting Kwasi Nti to his home to discuss the critical situation. During their meeting, Nti revealed that he was beset by a debt of GH¢1.5 million owed to Adansi Rural Bank, which put him in a vulnerable position and made resignation difficult without financial relief.
Agyapong acknowledged he could not fully cover the debt but offered GH¢1 million, which he delivered via a check that Nti used to clear part of his obligations.
He said “I told him, honestly, I can’t give you GH¢1.5 million but I can give you GH¢1 million, so I wrote a check for GH¢1 million for him.
Agyapong continued, “After withdrawing the money and coming to sign the resignation letter, the walking proverb truly holds: ‘Money is blood,’…When he came, he didn’t even read the resignation letter we had written; he simply took the pen and signed it. We then gave a copy to President Akufo-Addo and Honorable Asiamah.”
Following this, Andrews Asiamah Amoako officially declared his independence would support the NPP, tipping the parliamentary seat count in favor of the NPP with 138 seats, a crucial margin over the NDC’s 137 seats.
Source: www.Kumasimail/Kwadwo Owusu