Assembly member appeals to President for new candidate for Yilo Krobo Assembly
A member of the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly, Mr Joseph Minimade, has appealed to the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to consider nominating another candidate as Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area.
According to Mr Minimade, the various assembly members represented their respective electoral areas and, therefore, the non-endorsement of the President’s nominee was the collective voice of the people they represented at the assembly.
He has thus entreated the President to nominate another candidate who should be an indigene of the area.
On May 16, 2017, the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly failed to endorse the President’s nominee, Mr Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor, for the second time. He secured 53.2 per cent out of the 62 valid votes cast.
Allegation
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Somanya, Mr Minimade, who is the Assembly member for Tsremati-Dorguanor electoral area, alleged that, “Apart from the fact that the President’s nominee is not a native of Yilo Krobo, the constituency chairman of the NPP and some few constituency executives of the party have a hidden agenda of projecting Mr Kupualor so that they will manipulate him when he is endorsed.”
Act
The assembly member further buttressed his point with a section of Local Government Act, 1993, ACT 462, on the duties of assembly members.
‘’A member of the District Assembly shall as appropriate (a) maintain close contact with his electoral area, consult his people on issues to be discussed in the District Assembly, and report to his electorate the general decisions of the assembly and actions he has taken to solve problems raised by residents in his electoral area.’’
According to him, “that was exactly what our electoral areas asked us the assembly members to do and we did just that.’’
He further said, with quotes from the Model Standing Orders for the MMDAs; “Where the President’s nominee fails to win the required two-thirds at the second ballot as in the case of the President’s nominee, Mr Ebenezer Tetteh Kupualor, the President shall withdraw his nomination.’’
‘’Any nominee of the President who fails to poll 55 per cent of votes of members present and voting, shall be withdrawn by the President, who shall nominate another person for approval by the assembly,’’ Mr Minimade indicated.
