By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Konongo (Ash), Feb. 17, GNA – Some youth
belonging to the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Asante-Akim Central
Municipality, on Monday massed up in front of the Constituency Office of the
Party to protest the alleged refusal by constituency executives to make
nomination forms available for aspiring parliamentary candidates.
Clad in red and chanting war songs, the
placard-wielding group calling itself “Concerned NPP Youth”
vandalized the metal door of the office and set ablaze posters of the incumbent
Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Kwame Anyimadu Antwi.
They are accusing the constituency
executives of scheming to allow Mr. Anyimadu to go unopposed by frustrating two
other aspirants from accessing the nomination forms.
This is the latest protestation over alleged
denial of access to nomination forms to interested aspirants of the NPP in the
Ashanti Region, they said.
The last couple of weeks has witnessed such
disturbances in the Bekwai and Mampong Constituencies of the NPP.
The angry protesters feared the situation if
left unchecked, could lead to voter apathy among Party members in the
Constituency and thus affect the fortunes of the NPP in the upcoming general
elections.
According to the Asante Akim Central
protesters, the executives had deliberately created artificial shortage of the
forms, yet they could not mention even one aspirant who had picked a form apart
from the incumbent.
They therefore vowed to resist any attempt
to protect the incumbent whom they accused of doing little to improve the lives
of the people after serving two terms.
Two aspirants who have expressed interest in
contesting in the forthcoming primaries are Mr. Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Accra Digital Centre and one Nana Agyemang, a banker by
profession.
Sources from the Party in the Constituency say
all efforts by the two to pick the forms at the Constituency, regional and
national levels have proved futile and accused the executives of employing
flimsy excuses to deny them the forms.
Mr. Nicholas Adu Berko, leader of the group,
said they embarked on the action to bring the issue to the attention of the
hierarchy of the Party after all efforts to compel the executives to do the
right thing did not yield any results.
He said the NPP was a democratic Party that
adhered to democratic principles, hence the action of the executives was a
clear violation of the Party’s constitution.
He therefore appealed to the Regional and
National leadership to intervene as a matter of urgency, to ensure sanity in
the Constituency.
Failure to do so, he noted, would compel
them to support any independent candidate who emerges from the Party.
GNA