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18.06.2015 Politics

Kofi Frimpng Storms Parliament

By Daily Guide
18.06.2015 LISTEN

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Kwabre East, Kofi Frimpong, who lost the just-ended parliamentary primaries of the party to a 22-year-old law student, Francisca Oteng-Mensah, yesterday went to parliament to debunk news of his ill-health.

This followed his failure to appear in the House on Tuesday to ask an advertised question standing in his name.

Kofi Frimpong’s sudden appearance in parliament after news went viral that he had been taken ill after being defeated by the young lady in the Kwabre East constituency, was greeted with wild cheers by his colleague MPs who welcomed him warmly to the chamber.

He was again billed to ask another question in parliament yesterday concerning the delayed Jubilee Market project at Mamponteng in his constituency. Just as the speaker called his question number, the Kwabre East MP emerged in the chamber to thunderous cheers.

“Mr Speaker, I am here to ask my question,” he said, stressing that his inability to attend sitting on Tuesday was not because he was sick but because he had just arrived from his constituency and was preparing to attend parliament yesterday.

“Mr Speaker, it is not true that I was ill but it is normal for fellow MPs to ask questions on behalf of other colleagues, citing ill-health as the reason for their absence from parliament,” he underscored.

Mr Frimpong later told a section of the parliamentary press corps that he had accepted his defeat in good faith and that he was going to form an association of losing MPs to rally support for Nana Akufo-Addo to win massively in the 2016 general elections.

According to him, he has some brand new pick-up vehicles which he would be making available for the electioneering campaign.

Responding to his substantive question, the deputy minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, said the Jublilee Market was part of the Ghana Poverty Alleviation Project started in August, 2012 and was supposed to have been completed in July, 2013, but due to financial difficulties, the project was suspended in August 2013.

When the deputy minister was asked how much the contract sum was, he could not provide any figure and asked parliament to give him some time to provide the figure.

The deputy minister could also not answer a probing question by the Kwabre East MP as to the whereabouts of the oil money allocated from the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC) for the completion of the market.

By Thomas Fosu Jnr

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