Some members of the Minority in Parliament have expressed dissatisfaction at the decision of former President John Agyekum Kufuor to grace the occasion of the rebranding of Merchant Bank, now Universal Merchant Bank.
According to them, President Kufuor?s decision to participate in the programme was a stab in the back and direct endorsement of the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Fund.
Speaking on an Accra-based radio station, Joy FM, the Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said the Minority had requested a meeting with the former President over the matter.
The meeting was said to have taken place last night.
?Personally, it will be unfair on my part to jump into conclusion, especially when I do not know the reason he attended the ceremony. What we have done is engage former President Kufuor on what led him to attend the programme,? he said.
Background
Last week, President Kufuor and a former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani, were among some of the dignitaries who attended a ceremony to rebrand Merchant Bank.
The sale of Merchant Bank to Fortiz Equity Fund had, over the past months, been criticised by the Minority in Parliament and some civil society groups.
According to them, the sale was fraught with anomalies.
Before the sale was made, the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy, led by Mr Andrew Awuni, a former Press Secretary to President Kufuor, had gone to court to challenge the sale of the 90 per cent stake to Fortiz.
He described the sale as illegal and wanted it mutated to the original owners, the Social Security and National Insurance Trust, ?but the court rejected his demand.
Minority Leader?s stand
Asked if former President Kufuor’s decision to attend the ceremony was a stab in the back of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said he could not tag it so, since he was yet to be fully briefed on the former President?s actions.
“Sometimes you must make a distinction between President Kufuor as the former President and his capacity as the former leader of the party. The two personalities are different,? he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Mpiani has challenged NPP MPs who thought President Kufuor?s decision to attend the function flouted the party?s rules to proceed to the NPP?s disciplinary committee.
Source Daily Graphic
