Vice President of the think-tank IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil has described the leadership style of Member of Parliament of Effutu Constituency and Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin as effective yet overly combative.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, he stressed the need for unity within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to counter the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) parliamentary dominance.
“In all honesty, Afenyo’s leadership is effective, but I think it’s a bit too combative,” Mr Bentil said. He explained that the current parliamentary structure and the NDC’s overwhelming numbers necessitate a leadership approach that is strategic and unifying.
“However, the kind of structure we have now, the nature of structure in parliament, is such that I think you need to be a bit strategic to deal with this NDC and their overwhelming numbers in parliament and also popularity,” he added.
Bentil highlighted that while a forceful approach can sometimes be effective, it risks creating divisions within the party.
“Not credible is too far, a bit strident, a bit forceful, that is why I am saying that everybody must fall in and align,” he said.
He further emphasised the importance of party cohesion and urged Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to take a proactive role in aligning party members to ensure effective collaboration in parliament.
“What I hope Bawumia will do, and advise him to do, is to make everybody fall in line,” Mr Bentil said, underlining the need for collective strategy in the face of parliamentary challenges.
