Prominent New Patriotic Party (NPP) member and political strategist, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has dismissed claims that he attacked or disrespected Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Ashanti Region during a recent engagement with party faithful in the United Kingdom.
In a detailed explanation circulated to NPP MPs on the Minority Parliamentary Caucus WhatsApp platform and sighted by Newscenta, Mr. Otchere-Darko stated that his remarks, which have sparked heated debate within the party, were misrepresented and taken out of context.
He said his comments were intended to inspire unity and self-reflection within the NPP rather than to cast blame on any group of MPs.
“I did not attack any Ashanti MP, nor did I show any disrespect to the Ashanti Region,” he stated.
“I did not throw Ashanti MPs under the bus. I rather defended them and went on to say that Ashanti was not shifting to the NDC because the NDC had less than 30,000 more votes in 2024 than in 2020. With humility and confidence, we can recover.”
According to him, he had been invited as a former member of the UK branch of the party who happened to be in the area, and he only shared his reflections on the challenges faced by the NPP government during its second term.
Mr. Otchere-Darko said the economic turmoil that engulfed Ghana after entering the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme severely constrained government’s fiscal space, resulting in the suspension of major infrastructure projects and “painful haircuts” for domestic bondholders.
“Our government faced extraordinary challenges — operating with a 137–137 Parliament plus an NDC Speaker. Many projects funded by loan facilities had to be suspended. That was the context of my remarks,” he noted.
He explained that his much-discussed reference to the Suame Interchange project was part of a broader discussion about stalled projects and was not meant to suggest that Ashanti MPs opposed such initiatives.
“My flyover comment was in reference to Suame Interchange as an example of a project that stalled because its loan facility was cut off. I expressly referred to a tactical suggestion by one Ashanti MP — not MPs — that, given the limited fiscal space and with just over a year to the elections, priority should be given to completing community roads to make an immediate impact. It was never to imply that Ashanti MPs opposed a flyover as a general rule,” he clarified.
Mr. Otchere-Darko added that his message in Birmingham was intended to encourage party members to remain confident and proud of the NPP’s record despite economic hardships, while also acknowledging areas where government could have done better.
“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 emphasised.
He further noted that those circulating misleading excerpts of his remarks were motivated by a desire to attack his reputation, but insisted that the full recording of his speech would vindicate him.
“The full recording will show clearly that I provided several examples to illustrate the point that our MPs and government did their best under serious challenges,” he said. “There are always those looking for opportunities to attack me, but I assure you there was no attack on any Ashanti MP.”
Mr. Otchere-Darko concluded that his central theme was to contextualise the political and economic difficulties the NPP government faced in 2024, including the constraints of working under a hung Parliament with an opposition Speaker, which made it difficult even to pass key government programmes.
“My focus was to remind the party that despite all these challenges, we have a solid record to defend — and that our future depends on unity, humility, and renewed purpose,” he said.
