PC Ofori vindicated?Chief exposes Asare-Donkoh

The Member of Parliament for the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa constituency in the Central Region, P.C Appiah Ofori has been vindicated by the Omanhene and President of the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council (GATC), Nana Obirifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobea II, who has exposed the fraudulent activities of Frankie Asare-Donkoh, who filed to contest for the Asikuma Odoben Brakwa Parliamentary primary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

This goes to confirm the circumstances leading to the incumbent MP being declared unopposed in the constituency primary which Asare-Donkoh wanted to contest, contrary to claims that Mr. Appiah Ofori influenced the Central Regional Executive Committee of the NPP to declare him unopposed.

In a letter dated April 28, 2008, and addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, the chief narrated how Asare-Donkoh through dubious means managed to secure a fictitious document and presented it to deceive the Vetting Committee of the party to enable him contest the Parliamentary primary against the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, P.C Appiah Ofori.

This followed telephone conversation between the National Chairman of the party and the Sumankwaahene/Mpaebohene of the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional area, Nana Owuebu Donkoh III, on April 25, 2008, over the subject matter.

Nana Ankobea noted that on April 11, 2008, the Assistant Regional Registrar in charge of the GATC, Thomas Kwame Ewul came to his house with Asare-Donkoh, whom he did not know and was introduced to him as an NPP aspirant in the constituency.

According to him, Asare-Donkoh, who happens to be the gazetted Tufuhene of Gomoa Abora and goes by the name Nana Kwodwo Abam Bediako II, knelt before him, almost in tears, and asked him (Nana Ankobea) to authorise the Assistant Registrar to forge a letter for him, to present to the NPP Vetting Committee, which was then sitting in Cape Coast.

This, he said was to deceive the Committee that he (Asare-Donkoh) had as at March 23, 2008, abdicated his position as Tufuhene and that he was prepared to pacify him (Nana Ankobea) with whatever he would ask for in fulfilment of his request.

“I declined his appeal and offer to bribe me which are criminal offences and instead directed the Assistant Regional Registrar in the presence of Mr. Asare-Donkoh himself, to ensure that all the customary rites and processes that should precede the abdication of a chief in the Gomoa Traditional area were complied with and that the Registrar should accompany him to the Sumankwaahene/Mpaebohene for the necessary action”, he narrated.

Thereafter, Nana Ankobea noted that the Assistant Registrar minuted to him a letter with which Asare-Donkoh had sent to his house for his directives.
Subsequently, he also minuted the letter back to him with his directives that “Registrar, application is formally received today, please invite his 'Abusuapanyin' (family head) for confirmation and for all rites of abdication to be performed before official approval.”

Instead of the Registrar complying with his oral and written directives, Nana Ankobea emphasised that “he accompanied Mr. Asare-Donkoh to his (Regsitrar's) house where they jointly and severally conspired to produce and in fact produced a letter dated 11th April, 2008, captioned 'Abdication of stool' in which the following fraudulent statement was stated, “the Traditional Council under the auspices of the President, Obirifo Ahunako Ahor Ankobea II, Omanhene, has no option than to grant your abdication letter which took effect customarily and traditionally from 23rd March, 2008, when all abdication rites had been performed at Abora.”

The Omanhene and President of the area, Nana Akobea II thus categorically denied that “either the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Council authorised the release of such a letter and that the Traditional Council, presided over by me could not by any stretch of the imagination write on 11th April, 2008, to state that Mr. Asare-Donkoh had abdicated and then on 14th April, 2008, write again that his Abusuapanyin should appear before the Traditional Council to perform the required customary rites leading to the abdication of the same Tufuhene.”

From the foregoing, he noted “it was obvious that the Assistant Regional Registrar and the NPP aspiring Parliamentary Candidate procured the letter date 11th April, 2008, by fraud and that this great party should not condone and connive such criminal act.”