Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the minority leader has revealed some members of the New Patriotic Party attacked him for fast-tracking President John Mahama’s ministers.
Speaking on the KSM Show the minority leader revealed, “When we lost the election, some people attacked me for allowing Mahama’s ministers to go through the vetting process faster than expected. But I said, look, we don’t need to create a vacuum. Let’s push it through. The government must be formed quickly. If they make mistakes, that’s when we can criticize them.”
He further added, “There are times my colleagues disagree with cooperation. There are times they don’t like my approach. But as a leader, you must always balance it. Everyone wants a space. You listen to their views, and you make an input, but you can’t satisfy everyone. You just have to get it through and move on.”
“I have to play my role as Minority Leader. I have a responsibility to lead the rebranding of the party. The base must be activated, and we must hold the NDC to the fire.”
“The most important thing is that it’s a perception-driven enterprise. People must see that you are fighting for your party. That’s what matters”, he added.
Alexander Afenyo Markin further revealed he was all alone carrying the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on his shoulders.
According to Afenyo Markin, people saw him as boisterous, but it was a necessary intervention.
He narrated, “I was alone, carrying everything on my shoulders. People saw me as boisterous, but it was a necessary intervention. If I didn’t do it, who would?” he said, acknowledging that his perceived forcefulness was a strategic necessity rather than mere bravado.
“When the Speaker ruled against us, people asked why I didn’t negotiate. But all doors were shut. The Speaker is not neutral; he belongs to a party. And at that time, his party was applying pressure on him just as I was applying pressure from my side,” he explained.
Afenyo Markin further touched on the 2024 elections, “We went into the elections bruised. We expected to win but didn’t. Even in Parliament, we thought we’d at least return with about 120 seats, but we fell back to where we were in 1997. Now, it’s 88 against 187, and none of the independent MPs joined us,” he lamented.
The minority leader further admitted that the party base must be activated as there is no party leader now.
Afenyo Markin added, “The party base must be activated. There is no party leader now. We don’t have a flagbearer yet, though names are being mentioned. In the meantime, everything is on my shoulders. The youth shifted away from us. The debt exchange program hurt us because our base—the middle class—felt the impact. But we need to rebrand and push back”.
“Politics is a perception-driven enterprise. You must take your space. Your role in politics will not always reflect the real you as a father, husband, or Christian. In Parliament, you are dealing with opponents who also have their ideologies and strategies,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, during the interview, Afenyo Markin further revealed, that Sam George’s public commentary often crossed the line so he needed to scrutinize some of the things he said about the former president Akufo-Addo and the Chief Justice.
He added, “Look, Akufo-Addo has given me a political space through his leadership. He has given the NPP an opportunity to be seen by the nation. He is all we have as our leader.
“So, politically, if you keep pounding him, pounding him, pounding him without respect, I will need to scrutinize some of the things you have said about him. The attacks on the Chief Justice, the attacks on Akufo-Addo—there was a lot. If you make such strong statements, you should be ready to defend them when the time comes.”
“Yes, I wanted to scrutinize him. I needed to. That’s politics”, he added boldly.
