Bishop Stephen Richard Bosomtwe Ayensu, a former Bishop of the Methodist Church, has hit back at persons, especially from the opposition National Democratic Congress, NDC, claiming that members of the clergy should stay off politics.
According to the former Bishop of the Obuasi Diocese, he reserved the right as a citizen to comment on politics and any other happening in the country.
“Politics is not anyone’s family property, politics is for all and we must share our opinion as and when we want to without fear. I don’t know why people have issues with me when I talk politics. Is it because I am a man of God? Don’t we [men of God] vote in this country? I am a voter,” he said.
He is on record to have stated that former President John Dramani Mahama will not win the next elections let alone, “come to power to cancel the Electronic Transfer Levy[E-levy].”
His comments attracted a flood of critique from predominantly NDC members who labelled the clergyman among others as, an anti-NDC clergy, a vile, unintelligent NPP propagandist parading in a cassock.
But the Bishop has called on the citizenry to support government’s implementation of the E-Levy assuring that the accrued funds were going to be used to develop the country.
Bosomtwe Ayensu made the comments while speaking to journalists at the 25th Synod of the Methodist Church at the Mount Zion Methodist Church at Obuasi in the Ashanti Region.
“A leading opposition party says this government has been borrowing to fund projects. But it [the government] has been strategic this time to introduce this homegrown policy to build our nation. So if someone says he will repeal this law when he wins power, then such a person will not even win power to abort it.
“If the E-levy is a good policy, why will you abolish it? Such people can’t even do it because history keeps guiding us. Such comments usually end up as political talk and deceit,” the former Methodist Bishop of Obuasi said.
Bishop Ayensu explained that he was indifferent to attacks on his person for his opinions.
“We have politicians who are also men of God. If that is the case, they should also put the Bible aside and use the constitution alone. There is no law that says pastors cannot talk about politics,” he said.
Following his pronouncements, NDC members called for the Church to dissociate itself from the views of the former Bishop.
In a press statement dated, May 10, 2022, the Methodist Church officially dissociated itself from the pronouncements and restated its stance as a neutral party in political issues.
