The resolve by some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Adansi Asokwa Constituency to block the bid by the incumbent Member of Parliament(MP), KT Hammond from seeking a sixth term by contesting the parliamentary primaries unopposed has taken a rough dimension.
As at the time of filing this story, the Secretary of the (NPP) in that constituency, Samuel Awui was receiving medical treatment following an attack on him at the party office by thugs loyal to Samuel Darkwa Binfoh, an aspiring parliamentary candidate on Monday afternoon.
Samuel Awui was alleged to have declined to endorse the nomination form of Samuel Binfoh Darkwa when he received it at the party office and said he would have to take it home to peruse it before appending his signature to same; a condition that infuriated the aspirant’s supporters who had accompanied him to the party office that afternoon.
But in an interview on Kumasi-based Angel FM on Tuesday morning, the aspirant, Samuel Binfoh Darkwa said, “I can swear by the bible that I did not witness this attack; I had left the office after ensuring that my form was with the executives only to see later on the internet what had happened behind me; everybody that knows Sammy Binfoh knows that this is not my brand; so I condemn it”.
The constituency secretary, who is seen as a stooge of KT Hammond, has however lodged a formal complaint at the Adansi Asokwa District Police Command as he seeks medical attention at the Benito Hospital at Dompoase in the Adansi North District of the Ashanti region.
With two days to the close of nominations, tensions continue to dominate in some constituencies in the Ashanti region, including; Suame, Bekwai, Asante Akim Central, Mampong and Adansi Asokwa where party heads are bent on making the incumbents, who are all deemed seniors and “vital for the party” in Parliament automatic candidates against the wish of the delegates.
In the Asante Akim Central Constituency, the party office was besieged by party youth to protest the refusal of sale of nomination forms to two persons who have expressed interest in contesting the incumbent, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi.
Party furniture were vandalized while posters of the incumbent were defaced and set ablaze in a bid to force executives to make forms available to Mr. Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accra Digital Centre and one Nana Agyemang, a banker by profession.
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In proffering a solution to such incidences, Chairman of the NPP’s Disciplinary Committee in the Ashanti region and National Council Member, Dr Kwame Amoako Tuffour has proposed that aspirants should be allowed to register online.
He writes in a recent article thus, “the way we are going about this could be disastrous. This may bring about rebellion in the rank and file of the party. Don’t say I’m predicting it, the facts on the ground will move us there. People are very quick to jump into useless conclusions but what is happening on the ground now, is that the people are getting more and more frustrated, increasingly defiant and they are going to undermine the party’s victory.
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There’s absolutely no reason why I cannot get up, go and see an aspirant, talk to him, discuss with him, why he should step down, people need to be respected. Their rights need to be respected.
This is a democratic party, at least, there are founding fathers and we as fathers of this party, the NPP, believe in democratic principles, we believe in fairness and even fair play. But we cannot turn round and act like dictators when democracy is the way for everybody around. At least, until we come up with another ideology, let us hold on to what has made us great”.
Mynewsgh
