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The ruling New Patriotic Party (PNP) has stepped up its campaign in areas where some party members have decided to run as independent parliamentary candidates in the upcoming elections.
The first day of the Vice President’s tour, Dr. Mahmud Bawumiah to the Ashanti region focused on the constituencies of Fomena and Bekwai, where some independent candidates are gaining ground.
In the Bekwai constituency, Akwasi Amofa Agyemang has decided to run as an independent candidate following the decision of the PNP executives to allow the incumbent deputy, who is also the Vice Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei Owusu, to represent the party unopposed.
Because of this, the party’s Ashanti regional chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as President Wontumi, has called him “unfortunate” as he advocates an agenda to win all the seats in the region for the party.
According to President Wontumi, he has contacted Mr. Agyemang on several occasions to rescind his decision, but it has all been to no avail.
“I brought in former IGP Patrick Acheampong to speak to him and rescind his decision, but he refused. I have called pastors, bosses and other dignitaries to hire him, but he has been stubborn.
“I had the president call him but he did not comply with his invitation,” he revealed.
Interestingly, Bekwai’s incumbent MP was first voted in Parliament as an independent candidate.
At Fomena, incumbent MP Andrew Owusu-Amankwah is contesting the seat as an independent after failing to contest the primaries due to what he described as unfair treatment by some electoral party executives.
In a durbar to receive the vice president, the traditional authorities of the area expressed their dissatisfaction with the candidacy of Mr. Amankwah Esiama.
“We wanted him to reconsider his decision to compete as an independent, but we learned that he has already submitted his nomination and we are not happy with that,” linguist Nana Kwasi Anawuo II told Dr. Bawumia.
Meanwhile, the vice president introduced Fomena’s candidate, Philip Ofori Asante, to traditional leaders.
Then he said: “This is our parliamentary candidate for the constituency, we do not support the independent candidate. I know it [Philip Ofori Asante] personally, as a banker when I worked with the Bank of Ghana, he is a credible candidate. “
