MP aspirant infuriated . . . As Manhyia North NPP primaries postponed again
Manhyia North, one of the four constituencies whose parliamentary primaries were put on hold by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) due to a court injunction, has been struck with another postponement.
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This twist of event has infuriated one of the aspirants who is battling constituency executives for his right.
According to the party, the postponement of the elections from Sunday, October 11, to Saturday, October 17 was necessitated by the ‘Rise and Build’ tour by 2016 flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s in the Ashanti Region.
The constituency executives expressed the belief that the Ashanti tour which was expected to end on Saturday, a day before the election, may put too much pressure on members.
But one of the aspirants, Nana Osei Bamfoe, said at a press conference in Kumasi that the change of date and the extension of filing date to Monday, October 12, amounted to ‘arm twisting’ in favour of the incumbent, Collins Adu Amankwah.
He alleged, among others, that as of close of filing for nomination last Wednesday, he was the only candidate who had filed and paid his fee.
Nana Osei’s allegation was corroborated by the constituency Chairman, Michael Opoku, who said Nana Osei was the only candidate to contest on the ticket of the party for the 2016 election.
But his statement was rubbished by the party’s constituency secretary, Felix Ibrahim, who doubles as the administrator of the constituency , that the candidate and the party chairman were out of tune and should not be taken seriously.
He said it was sad that ‘those who claimed to be party executives were unaware of extension of dates for both filing and the election.’
Mr Ibrahim said in any case he was in possession of the filing documents of the incumbent, Mr Amankwah, and would give them to the chairman to endorse his portion.
“The party chairman is not the one responsible for such activity, it is the administrator,” he said in a telephone conversation.
However, supporters of Nana Osei have threatened to resist any attempt to include the incumbent as one of the aspirants.
