Former PNC Member of Parliament for Zebilla and a defeated aspirant for the Assembly man position in the Timonde Electoral Area in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, John Akparibo Ndebugri says he is dead sure that the former Ashanti Regional Minister, Kofi Opoku Manu, was dismissed as a result of his “irresponsible loose” talk on-air.
According to him, Mr. Manu’s remarks against the NPP were enough grounds for him to be sacked.
Mr. Kofi Opoku Manu in a speech at an NDC function in Kumasi last year urged the supporters of the ruling party not to hesitate to deliver resounding slaps to their political opponents who taunt them. He told the NDC party foot soldiers to descend heavily on persons on the other side of political divide who needlessly criticize the NDC.
His comment led to widespread calls for his dismissal, especially from the camp of the opposition NPP, but President Mills still stuck with him.
But several months after that particular incident, the long-cherished dream of many key supporters of the NDC in the Ashanti region and the opposition NPP to see changes in the political administration has been fulfilled, when President Mills stripped him of his ministerial appointment.
Interestingly, his dismissal has been met with mixed reaction. Whilst a group of NDC activists who were agitating for the removal of the minister for non-performance and insensitivity to their needs are happy, his supporters are reported to be sad.
Speaking on CitiFm’s Big Issues programme, Mr. Ndebugri who is now a staunch member of the NPP said there could not have been any better reason for the minister’s firing after various acts of instigation embarked on by the youth.
He maintained that the minister’s dismissal was necessitated by his conduct and that President Mills only heeded to calls from the party’s foot soldiers.