Works and Housing Minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, on Wednesday, courted the ire of the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso North Yusif Jajah when he said residents in Nima will for the first time in their lives have access to flushing toilet facilities, as part government’s agenda to give a facelift to the slum.
“Mr Speaker, there’s a slum upgrading which is about happening, that’s the Nima area. We wouldn’t want to pay lip service to the fact that we have some Ghanaians who are living in slums.
“We are going, to begin with, Nima and give Nima a facelift and for the first time we will see the good people of Nima flushing toilets like anybody will do in East Legon,” said Atta Kyea on the floor of Parliament during a debate on President Akufo-Addo’s State of the Nation Address.
The Ayawaso North lawmaker in whose jurisdiction Nima is sited took exception to the Minister’s statement.
Call for apology
According to Starr News’ Parliamentary correspondent Ibrahim Alhassan, Jaja stormed out of the House of Parliament to pour his dissatisfaction in an address to the media after rising on a point of order for minutes without catching the eyes of the Speaker Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye.
The Ayawaso North lawmaker in his media address accused the Works and Housing Minister of slighting the inhabitants of Nima and its surrounding, followed by a demand for an unqualified apology form the latter.
“This is an insult on the Nima community and we demand an apology from him,” Jaja said. “We are calling him [Works and Housing Minister] to withdraw that statement.”
Minister not budging
Atta Akyea was, however, unapologetic. Speaking to the media, he said his comments were never derogatory.
According to him, the MP’s sense of development is wobbled in asking him to apologise for the comments he made on the floor of the House.
Observing that he owed him no apology, Atta Akyea said: “If he [Ayawaso North MP] doesn’t want Nima to have the facility in East Legon then he hates Ghana and it is pathetic.”
