According to Mr Agyarko, his longstanding friendship and working relationship with Dr Bawumia should not be misconstrued as rivalry, particularly as the NPP seeks to rebuild and return to power in the 2028 general elections.

“Dr Bawumia is my friend, and we have a good relationship that many people do not know about. We have worked together for a long time and have never had any issues. People should not try to create confusion between us,” he said.

Speaking in an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Mr Agyarko disclosed that he recently visited Dr Bawumia at his residence to inform him personally about his decision to contest the NPP National Chairmanship position.

“I am very cool with Bawumia. I chat with him. I even went to visit him this past Tuesday in his house. I went to him with my intent to contest for National Chairman, and not a single moment has he rejected my candidature,” he stated.

Mr Agyarko said his relationship with Dr Bawumia dates back several years and has included working together on various NPP political and policy initiatives.

He recalled that the two worked together in 2008 and later collaborated during Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s campaign for the NPP presidential primaries, when Dr Bawumia served as Mr Akufo-Addo’s running mate.

“At that time, I was Akufo-Addo’s campaign manager for the internal elections,” he said.

He further disclosed that in 2014, he and Dr Bawumia worked together on the party’s manifesto committee, with Dr Bawumia serving as chairman and Mr Agyarko as co-chair.

“When we came into power, I was with him on the Economic Management Team. We have never had issues. We embrace. I am very plain-faced. We have a good relationship,” he stated.

Mr Agyarko stressed that the NPP is not the personal property of any individual and therefore party members must be allowed to pursue legitimate political ambitions in accordance with the party’s constitution.

“NPP is not someone’s private company, so you can’t pick and choose who you want to work with. We work with the constitution of our party,” he said.

He called for unity among party members, saying a united NPP would be better positioned to regain the confidence of Ghanaians and win the 2028 election.

“Unity is going to restore the hope in our party. We don’t have issues, so no one should create issues where there is none,” Mr Agyarko added.

READ ALSO:

I am tired of being in opposition, my goal is to win in 2028 – Boakye Agyarko

‘Whether NDC likes it or not, Bawumia will become President in 2028’ – Amin Adam

The misunderstanding follows an unexpected eviction notice issued by the Assembly.

AMA officials argue that, the various stores in the location violate Section 106 (1) of the Local Government Act.

Consequently, they demand that the traders obtain permits by Friday, December 8. Failure to comply will result in the complete removal of the traders.

However, the affected traders insist that the actions of the AMA are unlawful.

They stormed Adom FM studios to register their displeasure and call on government to intervene.

The spokesperson for the traders, Peter Kalley, speaking on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem on Friday, said they are frustrated.

“They [AMA] didn’t have any meeting with us. We have a contract with Metro Mass; they rented their place out to us, so if anything like that, they should have given us information or something like that,” he said.

According to him, attempts to seek clarification from both AMA and the Metro Mass Transit Company have been fruitless, leaving the traders in a state of confusion.

He feared the building and space may have been leased to a private developer without their knowledge.

The traders have warned that they will not sit aloof and allow anyone to intimidate them.

“We are not going to sit down and allow anybody or whoever has taken this contract to build. We are not going to accept it,” the traders fumed.

They have, therefore, called on the AMA boss, Elizabeth Sackey to explain the construction plans and urged authorities not to demolish their stores.

The traders, who remain resolute in their stance, have vowed to deal mercilessly with anyone who attempts to demolish their shops.

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Scores of them are accusing the MP of the area, Dakoa Newman of deliberate disenfranchisement during the ongoing constituency election.

Chaos erupted earlier today at the Prince of Peace polling station when the aggrieved persons faced off with the Police over the alleged deletion of some 430 names from the register.

They argue that despite the omission of their names, those affected should not be prevented from voting.

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Some of them told JoyNews’ Kwesi Parker Wilson that they will not forgive the party if this misdeed is not rectified.

“By removing our names, she [Dakoa Newman] means she doesn’t want us in NPP, so in the next election, we won’t vote for her. This is her first and last term,” an aggrieved supporter said.

Another added, “We are seeing only new faces. Those who are not delegates here are rather voting. So we will either go independent or for NDC [National Democratic Congress] in the next election”

Some delegates threaten to vote against MP for Okaikwei South, Dakoa Newman and the NPP during the general elections. #JoyNews pic.twitter.com/AtuglYVCFg

— JoyNews (@JoyNewsOnTV) April 28, 2022

Meanwhile, four delegates have been arrested for obstructing the party’s constituency elections.

The conflict is not peculiar to only Okaikwei South. In the Ashanti Region, misunderstanding has rocked the Subin Constituency as some aspirants for executive positions moved to stop the election.

They accused the party’s leadership of breaching internal processes to hold delegates’ conference.

The interdiction of the three, the first National Vice Chairman, Onzy Nkrumah; the General Secretary, Nana Yaa Akyempim Jantuah and the National Youth Organiser, Osei Kofi Acquah last Friday, had been described as unconstitutional by eight elected national party executive members.

Interdiction

At a press briefing last Friday, the Communications Director of the party, Sylvester Sarpong Soprano, said the Central Committee of the party took the decision to interdict the three individuals as their actions and inactions contravened the party’s constitution.

According to Mr Soprano, the interdicted persons had consciously and consistently thwarted all efforts by the Central Committee (CC) to carry out its mandated duties.

Rebuttal

However, a statement signed on behalf of the eight elected national executive members by the National Organiser, Mr Yirimambo Moses Ambing, said the Chairperson, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong-Kumankumah, was a subject matter in court to prevent her from holding herself out as the chairperson of the CPP or from involving herself in any official activities of the party.

“It must be put on record that the illegal meeting on April 1, 2022, was without the knowledge or consent of any of the duly elected eight national executives of the Convention People’s Party,” it stated.

On the alleged out of court settlement, the statement said the settlement was entered into without the notice of functional national leadership.

“All eight national officers unanimously rejected the terms of settlement and decided to set aside the settlement in the court of law,” it stated.

May 5 application

Meanwhile, the Accra High Court will on May 5 this year hear an application filed by Nana Akosua Sarpong-Kumankumah asking the court to dismiss a suit challenging her eligibility as party chairman, reports Justice Agbenorsi.

At the hearing in court yesterday, counsel for Nana Sarpong-Kumankumah, Mr George Mensah, notified the court of the motion for the dismissal of the suit.

However, Mr Wayoe Ghanamannti, counsel for the plaintiff, Onzy Nkrumah, indicated that neither he nor the Court had been served.

Mr Ghanamannti had wanted to move an injunction application against Nana Sarpong-Kumankumah but it was the considered view of the High Court that moving the injunction was not apt since the motion for the dismissal of the suit had not been heard.

The court, therefore, fixed May 5 for the lawyers for Nana Kumankuma to move the motion praying the court to dismiss the case against her.

Background

Mr Nkrumah in March this year filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the Chairmanship position.

The suit was on the grounds that Nana Sarpong-Kumankuma did not poll the mandatory 50 per cent +1 vote during the August 22, 2020 elections.

According to him, the Chairman polled 43 per cent, making her ineligible to be declared winner of the top race.

In a video intercepted by Adomonline.com, many people were seen at the Independence square with some pouring water on the girl who collapsed to help her gain consciousness.

ALSO: Video+Photos: Police-Military team storms Madina; arrests over 300 suspected criminals

Speaking in an interview with Adom News, some of the parents disclosed that they have been at the venue since Sunday afternoon and have still not been attended to as of 9:00am on Monday.

READ: Audio: Angry parents to storm Jubilee House over SHS placement confusion

“Some of us came yesterday and had to sleep in this open space. We have been here since last week but to no avail and one girl just collapsed. You will form queue to be attended to; only to be told stories,” they said.

Source: Adomonline.com | Adom News

The aggrieved executives accused the MP of not respecting party structures thus creating division within the party in the area.

According to them, Sam George had masterminded their names to be removed from the party’s main register and replaced with that of his cohorts.

They were of the view that their MP knew they will vote against him in the next NDC primaries hence the scheme.

The executives however vowed to resist any attempt by the party leadership at both the constituency and the national level, to impose on them any candidate ahead of the branch reorganization.

“How come the names of the incumbent branch executives have to be deleted from the register when our tenure of office has not ended? He is aware of all the bad things he has done against the executives and what they will do to him in the next primaries that is why he has decided to remove our names,” according to an aggrieved executive member.

Although the Saturday programme held at Dawhenya, aimed at bolstering the grassroots support commenced on a good note, where some NDC parliamentarians took their turns to interact with the executives and pleaded with them to put all differences behind them and forge ahead for a united NDC to wrestle power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2020 general elections, half way through it some executive members were seen walking out from the hall fuming with anger and accusing the MP for creating division in the party.

Reacting, Sam George described the allegations as false explaining that he only wanted to reward loyalty, dedication and hard work in the constituency.

According to him, the decision to embark on such a move was a result of some party members joining his opponents to campaign against him in the last elections which he won.

He pointed out that those he worked with cannot be ignored but must be rewarded. He thus urged the breakaway members to rejoin his team and the NDC for the same recognition.

Tension heightened when the MCE accused his host, the Omanhen of Komenda Traditional Area, Nana Kodwo Kru II, of supporting sand winning in the area.

Chief’s relatives

The MCE said the relatives and friends of the Omanhen, according to security reports, incriminated him (Omanhen), saying: “It is your family’s involvement in the menace that is stalling any arrest and action.”

However, the Omanhen, who would not take the allegation lying low, asked the MCE to ensure that the law worked. “You cannot expect me to go to the beach and arrest sand winners,” he said.

Allegation

“The assembly’s bye-laws are not being enforced, leaving everybody to operate with impunity. If change has come, let us all change,” the chief said, although he made frantic efforts to accuse the assembly of taking revenue from the perpetrators, thus emboldening them to destroy the beach.

Threats

The Omanhen, whose palace is close to the beach, said: “I feel threatened by the rampant illegal activity. Sand winning is synonymous with ‘galamsey’; all stakeholders must, therefore, work in tandem to stop the illegality,” he stressed.

He said fisherfolk in the area were migrating to other areas because of lack of landing beaches, and appealed for a landing beach at Komenda.

Another traditional ruler, who also took exception to the MCE’s comments, advised him against making allegations he was unable to substantiate.

Collaboration

Addressing the house earlier, the MCE called for a strong collaboration with traditional rulers in order to fulfil the visions of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He said the municipality abound in resources that could be harnessed for the benefit of the majority of the people, stressing: “But we need all hands on deck to achieve the vision.”

Nana Korang indicated that agriculture, as the President intimated at several foras, would be the priority of the assembly.

Free SHS

The MCE reiterated that the government’s promise to make Senior High School (SHS) free by September would be adhered to.

He had discussions with the people in the four traditional areas he visited, with most of the residents appealing for social amenities such as water, roads, health facilities and electricity.

Support

In a related development, the assembly last Monday supported 20 people living with disabilities (traders and students) with funds to develop their trades, as well as pay their school fees.

According to reports, the police had to disperse the assembly member with pepper spray in the midst of the confusion.

Some assembly members alleged the police used teargas to disperse them and expressed disapproval with how the police handled the situation, but the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh who was present for the endorsement Tuesday afternoon said it was pepper spray that the police used.

The DCE nominee, Mr Martin Obeng could not secure the endorsement as he got 64.8 per cent of the votes cast.

Out of the 54 assembly members who were present and voted, 19 voted NO whilst 35 voted YES. He needed two thirds [67 per cent] for the endorsement

The Regional Minister was said to have made moves for the members to take the voting for the second time after the first round, but following the confusion, the Presiding Member rescheduled the meeting.

Explaining, Mr Cheremeh in an interview with on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday said he impressed on the presiding member to reschedule because the “atmosphere was not appropriate.”

Mr Mohammed Alhassan, a government appointee on his part said they disapproved of the Regional Minister’s style of trying to force them to endorse the nominee.

Mr Alhassan said the confusion started when they finished voting and the ballot was about to be counted.

He said the manner in which the security [police and soldiers] surrounded the ballot box created tension to the extent that the presiding member had to impress on them to allow space for all to have a clear view of the counting.

After the counting, one policeman was said to have sprayed the pepper.