From the Floor of Parliament to Concrete Floors of EOCO, NPP MPs Disgrace Parliament?

The massive and humiliating defeat Ghanaian voters slapped on the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in both the Presidential and Parliamentary elections held in December 2024 seem to have broken and shattered the spine of that political party beyond comprehension and maybe repairs considering the happenings of today.

With the trust they had in the Jean Mensah led Electoral Commission to see them through following their fierce defense of every action she took prior to the elections, during the elections and even immediately after the elections when some opposition parties and CSOs complained bitterly about the EC's posture, and to eventually translate into one of the worst election performance in recent years, was enough to throw them into the state of confusion that most of their recent actions appear to be affirming.

The unexpected heavy defeat appears to have inflicted some psychological distress not only on the players that be, in the party, but their teaming supporters as well. This is making observers like me begin to question whether Jean Mensah's near prophetic statement, "It is Finished" to seal H.E. John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) victory in December 2024 was a subtle jab to the NPP party, for is the NPP indeed finished?

The leadership of the NPP appears to be failing in providing therapeutic interventions to their seemingly confused support base. Instead, are appearing to be inciting them the more to feel cheated, feel being harrassed, stressing and traumatising them the more to pour out on the streets to do the unthinkable, all trying to hide their (the leaders) failures and to protect their ills currently under scrutiny by the new NDC government.

Maybe some of the NPP MPs if not all of them are not in the know that it is an Act of their own Parliament (Act 466) in 1993 that brought the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) into being.

EOCO, is a State agency charged with the responsibility of monitoring and investigating economic and organized crime and on the authority of the Attorney-General of Ghana to prosecute offences emanating from their investigations to recover the proceeds of crime and provide for related matters. It started as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to augment existing laws and institutions that were found to be somewhat deficient then to detect, investigate and prosecute complex frauds and economic crimes in Ghana. It will later be known as the EOCO.

This public institution has since then been living up to its call whenever suspected cases of complex crimes, including money laundering, financial or economic loss to the State, or financial loss to any institution or entity in which there is the State's financial interest, human trafficking, prohibited cyber activity, tax fraud and other serious offences whenever brought to its office on the authority of the Attorney-General. The institution is also known to be cooperating with relevant foreign and international agencies in furtherance of why it was established.

As Parliamentarians, their loyalty must be to the State first, and must be ready to be seen exercising your oversight responsibilities to ensure the State is not defrauded, citizens health are protected, money laundering is exposed and the culprits punished, organized crime is flushed out of the system and allowing the law takes its cause.

The MP must be interested in protecting public institutions, be an advocate and a champion of allowing constitutionally established investigative agencies to fully function without obstruction when there is any suspicion of crime.

The MP is not to be seen doing the opposite and indirectly taking the position of suffocating state agencies doing their work simply because his or her government is not in power, and it is a party member of his or hers caught in the web of justice as a suspect.

For, when elected an MP, you represent your constituency which is made up of Ghananains, even non Ghanaians legitimately residing in that constituency inclusive, including other political parties' members and independents, though the facts remain you rode on the ticket of your political party to Parliament.

An MP must not be seen wasting productive time paid for by all taxpayers, including their security, and risking that security to actively be frustrating, suffocating and obstructing the work of a public investigation agency in the name of solidarity towards their political party member who is not an MP nor a public servant but a private person like any other Ghanaian.

Will it be feasible and acceptable for MPs to go to every police station to solidarize with every constituent or party members when invited as suspects across Ghana, not to talk about all MPs in the same political party of the suspects?

Will the 88 NPP minority MPs subject themselves to the privileges committee of Parliament for sanctions for dragging Parliaments name into disrepute if it turns out ultimately that the Courts find the Ashanti regional chairman of NPP, Antwi Bosiako (Wuntumi) guilty of the crimes he is being investigated for, especially now that it is looking to take an internal dimension?

Will Ghana's image suffer an irreparable damage and injury when the world get to know some 88 members of Parliament defended crimes of such magnitude in scorching sun openly on one street of Accra sitting on bare hard burning partially dusty concrete floor at the entrance of the Economic and Organized Crime Office premises in solidarity with a 'criminal' should Wuntumi be found guilty?

For those unable to phantom the need for a whole NPP Minority group in Parliament to consciously leave the floor of Parliament in unison, walk in a calculated file like kindergarten children on a field trip at the expense of the taxpayer, all the way to the entrance floor of EOCO to sit and hold an openly loud 'Yoga' session on a partially dusty hard concrete floor, I urge you to carefully study the roots and tree that bore them as fruits in Ghana's political history.

That root was formed with unimaginable seeds mulched with divisiveness, vindictiveness, individualism, state capture, sabotage, nepotism, arrest of protesters, press stifling and many more they continue to show with time. To them, it is always the 'I' and the 'they against us' mentality instead of the celebrated 'we as a nation' mentality.

It is the seed that saw them throw a bomb at Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana followed by colluding with foreign powers to overthrow him and the destruction of his statutes and books.

Seeds that inspired the dragging of a pregnant Court judge live while sitting on a case against them in Court. That seed that will embolden them to go shoot and maime electorates in Ayawaso, Accra using masked men, in the name of National Security.

Seeds that will ginger them to shoot and kill 8 unarmed citizens of Ghana, including a minor at a collation center to observe an electoral process aimed at protecting ballots cast in 2020 at Techiman South. Those 8 killed will unfortunately be described by their party member who was an MP and doubled as a deputy Speaker of Parliament of Ghana, as armed robbers who deserved to be killed and vowing not to apologize or advise the president to apologize. Indeed the then president Akuffo Addo never apologised till date.

That same seed moved them to arrest and try protesters against illegal mining (galamsey) believed to have polluted water bodies in Ghana with mercury and cyanide leading to children being born deformed because of the rivers being the only source of water for the communities those deformities are pronounced. Allegedly, the person in custody for whom they matched to solidarize with, is said to be one of those responsible for polluting the water bodies with mining activities.

The same NPP minority parliamentary vetting committee members will be captured on live national television obstructing the vetting of Ministers process by lifting chairs and breaking tables and microphones acquired with taxpayers money.

With the seed that bore them periodically exposing their character, they sat in Parliament with one of them who did not even have the floor to speak, loudly calling another MP on the majority side "daughter of murderer". Till date they have refused to disclose the MP who verbally abused another MP and by extension referred to the former president of Ghana, Flt. Lt. JJ Rawlings, now late, as a murderer.

Some Ministers and appointees during their reign are currently charged with causing financial loss to the State and fraud. Some are also being investigated by the Attorney General and Special Prosecutor of Ghana.

For many Ghanaians, their characteristics are known because of the seeds that bore them and it is a prayer I believe many are saying without ceasing hoping they will genuinely do self reflection and to for once have a taste of what it feels like to genuinely be for Ghana first before a political party, and or self. By doing so, they would be modifying the products of the seeds that formed them, including future fruits that the greedy, selfish and unpatriotic seeds would have continuously infected to produce more dangerous and nation wrecking fruits.

Until then, no matter how long they sit on the floors of EOCO and the floors of many Courts of Law and investigative bodies of the State to invite them for questioning, they must know that the current accompanying the wind of justice can sometimes be delayed but cannot be subdued or tamed by any obstacle; not a fence wall, human shield, iron gates, windows or any door. The floor is the least obstacle to be overcomed by the Current of Justice, for until they develop human wings, let it be known to them that the wind of Justice is capable of sweeping the floors underneath their partisan feet away with ease and at any time.

I rest My PEN.
Mustapha Alhassan
Pennsylvania, USA.