The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has stated that it will contest the Ayawaso East parliamentary seat once it is officially declared vacant, despite calls from the Accra Major for the opposition party not to contest.
This come after the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, appealed to the NPP to refrain from contesting a potential by-election in the constituency following the death of the MP, Naser Toure Mahama.
The Accra Mayor had suggested that a non-competitive election would serve as a gesture of respect to the late lawmaker.
Speaking on Citi Eyewitness News on Tuesday, January 6, Deputy General Secretary of the NPP, Haruna Mohammed, dismissed the call by the Accra Mayor.
Mr. Mohammed explained that comparisons being made to the Tamale Central situation were misplaced, stressing that the circumstances surrounding the two cases were different. He noted that the decision taken by the NPP in the Tamale Central case was influenced not only by the death involved but also by the unique circumstances under which it occurred.
According to him, the situation in Ayawaso East does not fall within the same context, and therefore does not warrant a similar political approach.
“I believe that that is his opinion but what I would say as a political party is that maybe his major reference to what happened in Tamale Central was a classical one. One, it was not just because of the death but it was because of the circumstances, the circumstances in which he passed on.
“This is the first time we are having a number of people on duty pass on. So the NPP at our steering committee level took a decision to honour them and also make reference to the circumstances.
“So the circumstances of the Tamale Central is different from the circumstances of the Ayawaso East. So I want to place it on record that when the nominations are open and the official declaration of that particular seat is made the NPP will contest that seat.”
Late former Tamale Central MP and Environment Minister, Murtala Muhammed was one of eight persons who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on Wednesday August 6, 2025 while en route to an official assignment in the Ashanti region.
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