The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, has told supporters of the party to remain calm and respect the authority of the President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, as he makes appointments in his government.
“Every decision that the President has made so far has been done in good faith and after thorough consultation, therefore it would be proper that supporters equally demonstrate good faith by throwing their weight behind the government to deliver on its promises to Ghanaians,” he told the Daily Graphic.
Mr Agyekum was expressing his views on the rumpus that greeted the President’s nominations for the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) recently.
He was, however, very happy that contrary to high expectations in some quarters that the situation would be chaotic, especially in the Ashanti Region, there had been relative calm.
“I largely attribute the Ashanti situation to the good work done by the 13-member committee of eminent members of the NDC that the President tasked to assess the many applicants for the positions and of course the co-operation and understanding shown by the candidates”.
“Places like Ejura-Sekyeredumase, Ejisu-Juaben and Offinso have protested against the President’s nominations for those areas but we are in touch with them and are explaining matters to them so they would allow peace to prevail and support the nominees to go through the processes and be sworn in.
“We are pleading with them not to do anything that could draw us back, we have a lot to do to bring development to Ghanaians,” he said.
The regional chairman said situations like these were normal since the number of qualified persons would always outnumber the positions available.
“What is happening now is nothing new to our politics. The important thing is how it is managed in order to calm the tensions as quickly as possible and that I can assure you, the government is working very hard at,” he explained.
Mr Agyekum, who is a former Ashanti Regional Minister, was full of praise for the 13-member committee that vetted the applicants for nominations to become MMDCEs.
According to him, the committee comprised a group of competent members of the party who meticulously discharged the task with expertise which was why there had been relative calm after the president’s nomination.
He assured Ghanaians that the government was going to deliver on its promises so that the NDC would be retained in power in the next elections.
He refuted claims that the government had been slow in its efforts and that “the mess the New Patriotic Party (NPP) created before leaving office, it only requires some patience and hard work to bring Ghana back on track for an expeditious development process.”
Source: Daily Graphic