I Hold No Grudge Against Colleagues Who Protested My Appointment – Minority Leader

Minority Leader Dr Cassiel Ato Forson says he holds no grudges against members of his party who had opposed his appointment as the leader of the parliamentary caucus. According to him, taking into consideration his relationship with the erstwhile minority leader, Haruna Iddrisu, he would have probably also done same “or even worse.”

“You see we have a leader who is loved by the caucus and his nature is likeable, and I can assure you if I was not the one that this position was offered to probably, and I’m sure, I would have been one of those shouting because of the love we all have for him. “So I don’t take it personally, it’s nothing for any of us to get worried about.

It shows the love we have for him and how loyal we’re all to him. He’s been in the position for six years, we’re used to him,” he said. He added that while the change was largely unexpected, caucus members should understand that the mandate is in the hands of the party’s national leadership, and as a result, they control who leads the party in parliament.

“Let’s be aware that the party has the mandate to change leadership because as we say they are the coaches and the coach knows which of the player can play a particular position at a particular point in time, who should captain us to a certain victory and who should be substituted.

“And if you’re a football fan you see sometimes somebody gets substituted the person obviously believes that he’s the one to do it. But the coach sees something and brings someone in and probably that person will be the one to score that important goal. So I see myself as the one that the party has to bring in as a new substitute to score the golden goal,” he said.

The Ajumako-Enyam-Essiam MP also assured caucus members that he has resolved to engage the national leadership to constitute a new clear framework for parliamentary caucus elections or appointments in order to avoid the scenes that characterized the aftermath of the announcement of his appointment in the future.

“I have pledged to my colleagues as one of the legacies I would like to leave behind if I’m to move on is to work with the leadership of the party to ensure that we have a properly laid down framework in electing or appointing leadership. That is my pledge to the caucus,” he said.