Harry Maguire: Ghana MP Isaac Adongo sorry for mocking Man United star
A Ghanaian MP has apologised to Manchester United footballer Harry Maguire after mocking him last year.
MP Isaac Adongo was debating the budget when he compared Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia's economic management to Maguire's performances on the pitch.
Maguire has come in for heavy criticism from some fans but fellow footballers have come to his defence.
On Tuesday, Mr Adongo said he wanted to correct the record and hailed Maguire as a "transformational footballer".
He was a "key player" for Manchester United, Mr Adongo said during a budget debate.
But he did not let up in his criticism of Vice-President Bawumia.
"As for our Maguire, he is now at the IMF, with a cup in hand," he added.
Mr Bawumia is the head of the government's economic management team as Ghana faces its most severe economic crisis in years.
As government debt has soared, the country had to take a $3bn (£2.4bn) loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In December 2022 inflation in Ghana reached a record 54% but has since fallen to around 35%.
A year ago Mr Adongo compared Mr Bawumia to Harry Maguire, who Mr Adongo said "became the biggest threat at the centre of the Manchester United defence".
The video of the speech was widely shared on social media.
It came amid a torrent of criticism of the footballer.
England manager Gareth Southgate has condemned the mockery as "ridiculous treatment" and said he's been "an absolute stalwart" for the team.
Mr Maguire's mother also defended her son and said the abuse he has faced has been "disgraceful" and "unacceptable".
Some Ghanaians have been reacting to Mr Adongo's apology, saying that the Manchester United player has really improved, but the same cannot be said of the managers of the Ghanaian economy.
Others feel such a comparison should not have been made.
According to Mr Adongo, the Ghanaian government has had to increase taxes and tariffs on services as part of the agreement with the IMF.
This caused widespread anger among voters and triggered protests over the rising cost of living and unemployment in the country.
Despite this, Ghana's governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has selected Mr Bawumia as its candidate for the 2024 elections.
He will be the first Muslim to contest the presidency under the NPP's banner since multi-party democracy was restored in 1992.
Mr Bawumia has promised to lead a "united and energised" NPP into the election and that it is "the only party that can transform Ghana".
Source: BBC
Trending News
Jean Mensa must resign and EC purged of partisans, incompetence – Joyce Mogtari
20:28Election monitoring efforts by Coalition of CSOs was to ensure transparent elections
17:44#2024Polls: Let’s be brief in our celebration, the weight of office will be an onerous one – Mahama urges supporters
00:30#2024Polls: MP blames Akufo-Addo, Ofori-Atta for NPP's debilitating defeat
08:46#2024Polls: Processing time per voter was less than 3 minutes – EC
12:03#2024Polls: Missing names and verification challenges greet exercise
13:13Dec. 7 polls: NDC's Abraham Ahiabu arrested over possession of 23k dummy ballot papers enroute to Togo
23:32Post-election violence: Withdraw supporters from collation centres to aid outstanding collations – EC to political parties
20:01CIHOG congratulates John Dramani Mahama
17:36#2024Polls: NPP’s Boamah to wrestle NDC, Baba Sadiq over Okaikwei Central ‘coup d’etat’ in High Court
00:35