The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin South, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour has bashed President Mahama for failing to appoint any member of the clergy to the 9th Council of State, calling it an underappreciation of their endorsements and support.
He maintained that the importance of the clergy to the Council of State cannot be overemphasized.
“It is very important to the Christian community. It is extremely important to our Christian leaders. It is very important to the Christian leaders who unanimously, openly, you know, endorsed president Mahama”
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South
According to Ntim Fordjour, President Mahama garnered unparalleled support from clergy in the 2024 elections and must acknowledge this.
“We’ve had many elections, but this was the only election where you saw senior Bishops, Archbishops, Reverend professors, Reverend doctors, and General overseers of various denominations and apostles openly gathering to endorse a president, praying for him”
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South
This unprecedented push transcended the election into “thanksgiving” services and prayers after the President emerged victorious and was subsequently sworn in.
All of which makes the President’s failure to appoint the clergy to the Council of State ill-thought and unjustified, he reckoned.
This is not only because it reflects a lack of regard for the leadership of the Christian community but also because, by extension, a likely neglect of issues peculiar to the Christian community could soon follow.
Fordjour struggled to reconcile how the President could deem the clergy fit enough to support his run for office and on the other hand declare them unfit to advise him on key governance matters.
“The Council of State is such a high body constituted to advise the president,” he remarked, asserting that failure to approach the composition of the council holistically could derail its efficacy in rendering sound advice unto the president.
By extension, an inability of the Council Of State to reflect fair representation of all people and interests could be interpreted as negligence of the opinions of said groups or persons.
To further establish the “extreme” importance of the Clergy on the council of state, Foudjour drew attention to former President Kuffuor who appointed Rev. Prof. Samuel Asante-Antwi to the council.
Then former President Atta-Mills and President Akuffo-Addo appointed Rev. Dr. Nii Amoo Darku and Bishop Justice Ofei Akrofi to their respective Council of States.
“Ask president Mahama which among his 11 appointed council of state members is part of the clergy,” he urged.
Arguing the “wealthy precedent” of former Presidents as the strongest case for the need for clergy representation on every Council of State, he chastised President Mahama’s failure to do the same.
According to him, the clergy, who may seem unbothered by this deliberate oversight, have taken notice of the “betrayal” and “disappointment.”
They would take a different decision next time they are faced with endorsing the President or his party, the NDC.
He referenced certain recent sermons by distinguished members of the clergy “in their churches” as proof of dissatisfaction for being sidelined on such a crucial national front.
“But I’m very certain that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia would never have turned his back on our clergymen” he added, reaffirming his conviction in the former flagbearer of the NPP to do better.
Bawumia for 2028
Sticking to that tandem, Fordjour backed the candidature of Dr. Bawumia as the NPP flag bearer for 2028.
“He will be a very fine president. He embodies a lot of humility, a lot of vision,” he said.
Calls for Dr. Bawumia to lead the NPP have received a lot of backing from top party officials who believe it is natural for candidates from either the NPP or NDC to contest several times before winning presidential elections.
“Most of them had to go three times, some even two times. We’ve even had a certain President who lost and had to come back, run, he lost again, and then eventually he won. So there’s absolute wisdom in giving doctor Mahamudu Bawumia another chance to lead the party”
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South
Of the possible choices to be made between Hon. Kennedy Agyapong and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Fordjour maintained his support of Dr. Bawumia, articulating that there was “absolute wisdom” in letting him lead the party.
He rested the party’s potential 2028 victory on its decision to maintain its former flagbearer. “We’ll have a very fine chance of winning in 2028,” he assured.
Ultimately, he urged that whoever gets mandated to represent them in the elections shouldn’t disrupt the stability within the party and its ranks, lest it costs them again.
“It’s not going to be a very easy contest, but I urge all candidates to be very responsible, to be very circumspect, and to be very sensitive to the fortunes of the party, because the party first.
“They are seeking to run on the ticket of the party and so it is important that they all are restrained”
Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, Member of Parliament for Assin South
Although he hopes for a free, fair, and transparent contest between Kennedy Agyapong and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Fordjour knows it will not be an easy race for the ultimate party responsibility.
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