DCE Weeps Over NDC Brouhaha

The locked office
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ahanta West, Joseph Dofoyena, virtually wept yesterday over the forcible locking of the Ahanta West constituency office of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) by some youth activists of the party at Agona-Nkwanta last Sunday.

This was after the DCE was accused by the Constituency Secretary of the party, Joseph Fugah, of masterminding last Sunday's 'operation' which saw about four party members sealing off the office.

About four NDC activists in the Ahanta West constituency of the Western Region last Sunday used pieces of wood to seal off the main gate of the constituency office of the party, which made it difficult for party members to enter.

According to sources, the move stemmed from an alleged suspension of three branch members of the party at Agona-Nkwanta in the constituency.

They were suspended for allegedly condemning the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, George Kwame Aboagye, for purportedly writing to the President that he could not work with DCE Dofoyena.

The suspended members are Henry Kuuku Dadzie, Richard Hanson Kobina and Habakuk Ocran Yankey, who are all branch executives of the party.

 
Secretary's Accusation
However, speaking on SKYY POWER FM on the issue, Joseph Fugah accused the DCE of being behind what took place at the party's office on Sunday.

He alleged that when he heard the story and went to the party's office, he saw the DCE holding the keys to the padlocks which were allegedly used to lock the office, adding, 'If the DCE did not know anything about it why should he have those keys with him?'

According to the Constituency Secretary, he could also not fathom why the DCE did not inform the Constituency Chairman of the case when he (the DCE) went to the scene but rather went and reported the case to the police.

'The DCE is an executive member and so if something has happened at the party office, why didn't he call the party chairman to inform him?' he quizzed.

He went further to allege that the DCE was also at the forefront of the 'MP Must Go' campaign in the constituency.

According to the Constituency Secretary, the DCE on October 5, 2014 held a meeting with some of the party members in his house to plan how to make the party unpopular in the area so that the MP would lose the parliamentary elections in 2016.

He pointed out that the three party members were suspended because they discussed party internal issues on radio and also vandalised party properties when they were summoned before the constituency executives to explain their actions.

 
DCE Weeps
Reacting to the allegations, Mr Dofoyena virtually broke down in tears, stressing that he regretted becoming the DCE of Ahanta West.

He remarked, 'I am very sad that some people are disgracing me because of politics and the party is also being disgraced at a time that I am the DCE.'

He described the current brouhaha in the constituency as unfortunate and called on all true party members to condemn it.

He debunked the perception that those who forcibly locked up the party's office were people associated with him.

He stressed that those who took the action were adults who were not happy with some issues currently going on in the party and thought the best way to express their grievances was to lock up the party's office.

'It is not true that I masterminded what happened last Sunday. Those who did it were adults and can think for themselves; so how can I control them as had been perceived?' he asked.

 
Aggrieved Party Member
One of the aggrieved party members who claimed he was part of those who locked up the party's office, Habakuk Yankey, explained the reason for their action.

He said about eight of the party's executives who were elected unopposed but believed to be aligned to the DCE were always sidelined whenever there was a party executives' meeting.

'So we don't think the rest of the three or four other executives cannot take decision for the party that is why we went to lock up the office. The DCE doesn't know anything about it and so no one should blame the DCE for our action,' he noted.

 
Propaganda Secretary
Commenting on the issue, Solomon Nkansah, National Deputy Propaganda Secretary of the NDC, virtually blamed the DCE for the current happenings in the party at Ahanta West.

He alleged that the DCE was rather scheming with some of the youth of the party in the area to undermine the MP.

He recounted how he suffered together with some of the party activists to ensure the victory of the party in the constituency despite the challenges that emanated from the camp of the DCE.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi