Member of Parliament for Effiduase/Asokore, Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, has publicly dismissed claims by leading New Patriotic Party (NPP) figure Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko that lawmakers from the Ashanti Region met with him to express their development priorities.
In a brief but pointed statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), Dr. Ayew Afriye questioned the basis of Gabby’s comments, stating that no such meeting had ever taken place between them within the stated period.
“Gabby O. Darko I never set, my eyes on you from 2017 up until 2025 August. When & where was this meeting on Ashanti development?” the MP wrote.
His reaction follows remarks Gabby Otchere-Darko made while addressing NPP supporters, where he claimed that Ashanti MPs had requested the government to prioritise community road construction over flyovers during the party’s time in power.
According to Gabby, he found it surprising that an Ashanti MP would apologise to constituents for the absence of flyovers, when, in his view, the party had delivered what the region’s representatives themselves had asked for.
“I heard somebody saying in the Ashanti Region that we let Ashantis down because we didn’t fix their roads. NPP let Ashantis down because they didn’t have flyovers. But I had been in meetings where MPs from the Ashanti region had said that they did not need flyovers, but they want their community roads done, and in politics, you are supposed to give people what they say they want, not what you think they want,” Gabby said.
He further defended the party’s record, arguing that road construction per capita in the Ashanti Region compared favourably to other parts of the country.
“They wanted their community roads, and when you look at the number of roads that were done in Ashanti per capita across the country, you can’t say NPP let Ashanti Region down. Yet an NPP person was apologising for disappointing the Ashantis for neglecting the Ashanti region,” he added.
Gabby also urged party members to adopt a more assertive posture as they prepare for the 2028 general elections, warning that admitting failure without defending the party’s achievements could undermine their campaign message.
“If you want to win in 2028, and this is your attitude, that you have accepted that you did not do well. There is a difference between humility and knocking yourselves down. You can show humility… but you must be bolder in defending what you did, you must be humble in accepting where you fell short and you must have the confidence to say that in spite of this and that, I can tell you that I have built more roads than any government that has spent the number of times that I have spent in office,” he argued.
