‘SK Boafo Should Support Me’

GEORGE AYISI Boateng, a contender in the Subin New Patriotic Party (NPP) upcoming primary, hopes that Hon. Sampson Kwaku Boafo, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Cultural Affairs will support his bid of representing the constituency in Parliament in January 9 next year.

Hon. Boafo, who is the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for Subin constituency in Kumasi, had announced publicly that he would not seek re-election this year after representing the constituency in Parliament on three successive occasions.

Mr. Boateng, a Kumasi-based businessman told DAILY GUIDE in an interview that after remaining loyal to Mr. Boafo all these years in his parliamentary duties, he naturally expected him to also throw his weight behind his bid, now that he is no more coming into the race.

“After rallying behind the MP all these years, naturally, I expect him to support me to win both the primary and the parliamentary elections,” he emphasized.

The founding member of the ruling party in the Ashanti Region however stated that he would not begrudge Hon. Boafo if he failed to support him.

Hon. Boafo, the paper learnt, was rather supporting Mr. Isaac Osei, Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD who is also a contender in the race.

It is being speculated that Mr. Boafo decided not to seek re-election so as to give way to the country's former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom.

Mr. Boateng, who is also a Board Member of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), noted that for the sake of Boafo's parliamentary ambitions, he (Boateng) severally turned down popular requests from the constituents to contest the party primaries.

He noted that the constituents, who voted for the party heavily in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, had become disgruntled following lack of development in the area over the years that they had been in bed with the party.

The NPP stalwart, who had already picked his nomination form, pointed out that the constituency required somebody of his caliber to revive the spirit of party members and also win the trust and support of floating voters.

Mr. Osei, the COCOBOD capo and Mr. Eugene Antwi, the party's United Kingdom Secretary, are other two party gurus who would contest the primary.

From Morgan Owusu, Kumasi