National security and ndc meddles in NPP parliamentary primaries at Ashaiman

The impending New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary primaries scheduled for June 13, 2015, has attracted the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashaiman Constituency, such that one of the aspirants who is touted as a fire brand in the race, seem to pose threat to the ruling NDC once he is elected as Parliamentary Candidate for election 2016 in spite of the gap between the NDC and NPP in the voting trend.

Snippet of information available including audio recordings indicate that the National Security and some NDC officials in the Constituency are making frantic effort through telephone calls and other meeting arrangements to convince one of the aspirants who is yet to file, to step down for the other who according to sources has greased the palm of many of the Constituency Executives and some delegates’ within the rank and file of the party in the Ashaiman constituency.
During their general meeting held on Sunday, April 26, 2015, three of the aspirants who had picked nomination forms to contest the NPP primaries were introduced to their members as Honourable Thomas Adongo, Sheik Muazu Mohammed and Alhaji Bombaran Yakubu Barry.

Speaking to one of the aspirants under the condition of anonymity, he bemoaned why the NDC party is so interested in the NPP primaries, to the extent of convincing him to step down for one of the candidates.

‘‘Since last week, I have had several calls from some members of the NDC including the BNI to step down for one of the aspirants so that I would be made the next MCE of Ashaiman. I have recordings of conversations I had with them during one of our meetings’’, he maintained.

According him, the aspirants are three, yet he is the only one being intimidated to step down. He however wondered how the NDC could make him the next MCE of Ashaiman.

It was also alleged that one of the aspirants is linked to the Municipal Chief Executive of Ashaiman hence the effort to allow him to sail through. Several allegations were made including funding from the NDC to push through a weaker candidate in the Constituency.

Speaking to the Municipal Chief Executive of Ashaiman, he dismissed the allegation that the NDC is directly or indirectly financing any of the aspirant. ‘‘I know all the three aspirants. One of the aspirant is an Assemblyman and the other two, I have lived with them in the same area for so long’’, he said.

According to the MCE, the NDC party is interested in the NPP primaries because every party does that for strategic reasons.

On the other hand, the Constituency Executive Committee of the NPP have suspended four of its Electoral Area Coordinators for demanding answers from its Constituency Executives why some of them are overtly campaigning for one of the aspirants, contrary to the party’s rules and regulations relating to the upcoming primaries.

The matter which was sent to the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the Party, Hon. Ishmael Ashitey by the four suspended coordinators is currently before the disciplinary committee of the party in the Ashaiman Constituency. The Disciplinary Committee is set to begin its work on the 28th April, 2015.