Leading stalwart of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has clarified comments he made at the NPP-UK Birmingham Chapter event, that have since dominated political discussions in the country.
In a carefully worded letter with both restraint and resolve, addressed directly to Hon. Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, following a strongly worded press release issued in Ghana by the Ashanti NPP Parliamentary Caucus, Mr. Otchere-Darko said “I only wish you had reached out to me or the organisers of the event before issuing the statement.”
Gabby intimated that his comments had been misrepresented and twisted by those, he said, “looking for opportunities to attack me.”
Far from disparaging Ashanti MPs, Gabby insists he defended them, saying, “I did not attack any Ashanti MP, nor did I show any disrespect to the Ashanti Region. I rather defended them.”
He continued: “Ashanti was not shifting to the NDC. In fact, NDC gained less than 30,000 more votes in 2024 than in 2020, and with humility and confidence, we can recover.”
Gabby explained that his remarks were part of a broader reflection on the economic headwinds that buffeted the Akufo-Addo administration during its second term, from the 137 to 137 parliamentary split to the painful IMF bailout that forced the suspension of several major projects and triggered investor “haircuts.”
In what he described as his “flyover take,” Gabby said he had cited the Suame Interchange merely as an example of a stalled project.
He clarified that his reference to a suggestion from an Ashanti MP was not an indictment of the caucus, but a tactical debate about whether, in straitened times, priority should be given to completing community roads over grand interchanges.
“It was never to imply that Ashanti MPs opposed a flyover as a general rule,” he intoned, emphasizing that “That was the context.”
Gabby maintained that his speech in Birmingham had been about renewal and realism, not recrimination. “Yes, I said we wished government did more in Ashanti. And yes, I stressed we should stop feeling sorry for ourselves. But that was in the spirit of renewal, not criticism.”
He added that the full recording of his remarks, which he said contained several examples defending government and MPs — would vindicate his position.
“I provided several examples to illustrate that our MPs and government did their best under serious challenges,” he said.
The heart of Gabby’s message was that the NPP, despite its difficulties governing under a hung Parliament with an NDC Speaker, must learn from its mistakes and move forward with unity.
“I hope this clarification helps,” the letter signed by Gabby, and copied to the Minority Leader, observed.
