Tema, Aug. 15, GNA - Polling Station Chairpersons of the Tema East constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have removed the Chairman and Secretary from office.

At an Emergency Delegates Conference over the weekend, they invoked Article 10 of the Party's Constitution and 65 out of the 66 members present, voted to sack Mr Ken Obeng Ofosu and Mr Charles Boateng, as Chairman and Secretary respectively, accusing them of inactivity. Article 10 of the Party's Constitution titled: "Removal of Elected Officers" states: "Whenever 40 per cent of the delegates that elected a Constituency, Regional, National Executive Committee, give written notice to the Constituency, Regional or National Executive Committee, of their demand for the removal of such an officer, they shall within one month, summon an Emergency Delegates Conference to deliberate and decide on the matter.... Approval for the removal of the officer shall be by simple majority of the votes cast at the Conference".

In a statement read on their behalf by Mr Seth Opare, the Delegates accused the two officers of allegedly stealing from the coffers of the party and dividing the ranks of the executive turning meetings into factions.

The Delegates denied the assertion by the Chairman and the Secretary that the Member of Parliament, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, had instigated them against them and recounted steps since June 22 this year, to remove them from office.

The Delegates stated that after the Executive Committee had refused to follow the laid down procedure for the removal of the officers enshrined in Article 10, they gave a reminder asking the them to convene an Emergency Delegates' Conference.

The Delegates said, with the Constituency Chairman ignoring the reminder, they had no other alternative than to hold the Emergency Delegates Conference at the weekend, resulting in their action.