Comments made by Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central that the chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mrs Charlotte Osei, landed the job after offering sex, warrants his instant suspension from the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr James Agalga, Deputy Minister for the Interior has said.

According to him, the comments were unbefitting of a leading member of a political party, hence, his outright dismissal is a must.

Mr Agyapong’s comments have been heavily criticised by several groups and individuals including the Ark Foundation, the Media Foundation for West Africa, the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur, among others.

Speaking on Multi TV’s news analysis programme Newsfile on Saturday July 2, Mr Agalga said: “This behaviour of Kennedy Agyapong warrants outright suspension, I don’t know why they [the NPP] are keeping quiet, looking on”.

“Kennedy Agyapong is a leading member of the NPP for God’s sake, and so when he comes out and speaks at the campaign launch [of a] parliamentary candidate of the NPP, a female parliamentary candidate… I think that the NPP itself ought to be up and doing and speak out.

“So far, I have checked and it appears there is some deafening silence on the part of the NPP as an entity [and] that for me is worrying. … They may suffer some collateral damage as a result of the misconduct of Kennedy Agyapong.”

He added: “When others did things, which were not close to the kind of misconduct that has now been labelled against Kennedy Agyapong…[the party in] the final analysis suspended its national chairman, general secretary, [and] first vice chair. So, the NPP should invoke its own disciplinary machinery. Is it that the NPP applies the rules in a selective manner?”