Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has taken a jab at the New Patriotic Party (NPP), accusing the party of using the Russia-Ukraine war as a scapegoat for Ghana’s economic woes during its time in government.
Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, 31 July, during the debate on the 2025 Mid-Year Budget Review, Mr Ayariga suggested that the NPP has exaggerated the war’s impact to cover up internal governance failures.
“Indeed, the beginning and the end of Ghana’s economic problems were in Ukraine. I’m tempted to believe that the NPP as a party and the government has benefited more from the Ukraine war than even the Russians who started it,” Mr Ayariga said, drawing laughter across the chamber.
He continued with a sharp quip: “I will not be surprised if Ukraine sues the NPP, because they have over-exploited the war.”
The Majority Leader referenced the height of Ghana’s economic crisis under the NPP, reminding the House that even members within the party demanded accountability from their own Finance Minister.
“Their Finance Minister had performed so abysmally that over 88 of them marshalled their numbers and wanted the Finance Minister deposed,” he noted.
“I’m surprised today to hear the Minority Leader attempt to obliterate that record from our history.”
Mr Ayariga’s comments came in direct response to Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who had earlier praised the recent stability of the Cedi, attributing it in part to policies initiated under the Akufo-Addo-led government.
He, however, dismissed that assessment, stating that the NPP’s economic legacy is one of hardship concealed behind external factors such as the global pandemic and the Ukraine war.
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