John Boadu
Aspirants from seven constituencies were
successfully vetted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Ashanti Regional Vetting
Committee on Monday, which was the first day of the exercise.
Sam Pyne, the Ashanti Regional NPP Secretary, told the media yesterday
that the exercise took off smoothly without any major hitches and he was
expecting a similar atmosphere in the coming days.
He refused to mention names of the seven constituencies that were
vetted, but he was quick to state that the various aspirants cooperated well
with the vetting committee, which is made up of top NPP members.
Sam Pyne indicated that in general aspirants from 44
constituencies would be vetted, pointing out that the remaining constituencies
would also go through the process from Tuesday to Thursday.
He said the vetting exercise would be on a temporary break on March
6, 2020, which is Ghana’s Independence Day, and also on Saturday for the funeral of the mother of the Ashanti Regional Minister,
Simon Osei Mensah, at Bosomtwe.
According to him, the vetting process would continue after the two-day
break.
Sam Pyne, during an interview with Kumasi-based Nhyira FM, stated
that the initial decision to group the 44 constituencies into two groups was
dropped at the last minute on Monday, saying, “We are now working with just one
group.”
He announced that the vetting committee had received several petitions
but he was not ready to publicly go into the issues raised, noting that the
committee would incorporate the petitions received into their final reports.
Sam Pyne, who is a member of the committee, stated emphatically that
the party’s decision to ban aspirants from storming the vetting venue with
their supporters was still being enforced and offenders would be punished.
Sam Pyne commended the aspirants that were vetted on Monday for cooperating, saying, “We expect the remaining aspirants to also respect this party rule.”
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi