The National Council (NC) of the New Patriotic Party, the second highest decision-making body of the NPP, will today (Friday 23 February 2024) hold an emergency meeting to consider the proposed list of names of new leaders of the Majority Caucus in Parliament.
At the meeting, the NPP general secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua, according to Asaase News sources familiar with the ongoing internal changes, will present the list as put together by the party’s steering committee.
“Once the National Council gives its blessing to the list to be presented by the general secretary on behalf of the steering committee, the Majority Caucus will be duly informed for the changes to be communicated to the Speaker for it to take effect,” one Asaase News source said.
New Majority leadership
The list of names for the new Majority leadership is expected to be led by Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the current deputy Majority leader and MP for Effutu, who is designated as the new Majority Leader.
Patricia Appiagyei, the MP for Asokwa, will be the deputy Majority leader, and Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri, will remain in his current role as the Majority Chief Whip.
Habib Iddrisu, the MP for Tolon, will take up the role of deputy whip, while Alex Tettey Djonobuah, the MP for Sefwi Akontombra, will be named the second deputy whip.
Should Alexander Afenyo-Markin’s appointment as Majority Leader be confirmed, he will become the first NPP parliamentary leader from the Central Region and also from the Volta Region, as his father is a “Voltarian”.
Leadership diversity
When the new leaders of Parliament are confirmed, the national leadership front of the NPP will become very diverse.
The party would have a sitting leader, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is from the Eastern Region, and a presidential candidate and sitting vice-president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, from the North East Region.
The party chairman, Stephen Ntim, hails from the Bono Region and Justin Frimpong Kodua, the general secretary, from the Ashanti Region. The party is also likely to choose its running mate for the 2024 presidential election from the Ashanti Region.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stands down
The former Majority leader and parliamentary affairs minister Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu reportedly resigned from his role as Majority leader on Wednesday (21 February) after the Majority Caucus held a meeting with President Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House, the seat of Ghana’s presidency.
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu served in the NPP parliamentary leadership for a total of 23 years and two months.
During this period, he was Majority leader for 15 years and two months, deputy leader for four years and chief whip for four years.
Right after standing down as Majority leader, Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu assumed the vital role of leading “Team Bawumia” to craft the NPP’s manifesto around the vision of the party’s presidential candidate, Dr Bawumia,
This will, in turn, be sold to the people of Ghana in the run-up to the 7 December 2024 general election.
Profile of the new Majority Leader
Alexander Kwamina Afenyo-Markin (born on 27 May 1978) currently serves as the MP for Effutu in the Central Region. He is also a member of the committee on defence and the interior in Parliament.
Until his proposed elevation to Majority Leader on 22 February 2024, he was the deputy Majority leader in the eighth parliament.
Afenyo-Markin’s educational background includes studying law at the University of Buckingham (LLB/MGT, 2003-2006) and earning Barrister at Law certification from the Ghana School of Law (2007-2009). He further pursued an MA in international politics and security studies at the University of Bradford (2009-2010).
Before entering politics, Afenyo-Markin worked as a principal postal officer at Ghana Post Company Ltd between 1999 and 2003. His professional experience also includes serving as the director of Excel Courier Ghana Ltd from 2004 to 2011 and as an associate at Dehenya Chambers from 2018 to 2016.
In 2012, Afenyo-Markin ran for and won his parliamentary seat on the NPP ticket against the National Democratic Congress candidate, Mike Allen Hammah. In 2021, along with other Ghanaian MPs, he took part in the 2021 extraordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The Effutu legislator is also recognised for championing “The Effutu Dream”, an initiative launched in February 2020 to promote Effutuman culture, foster a sense of belonging among the local youth, and attract tourists and investors to the constituency.
Reporting by Wilberforce Asare in Accra
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