Parliamentary blues… over his eligibility

Mr. Mohammed K. Boateng, who describes himself as an aggrieved party memeber has filed a writ at an Accra High Court seeking an order to nullify the recent NPP primary held at Mampong, which elected Mr. Francis Addai Nimo as the parliamentary candidate for the party.

In the writ of summons, Mr. Boateng stated that available evidence shows that Mr Addai Nimo, a Deputy Director at the Ministry of Roads and Transport ought to have been disqualified.

Quoting copiously from the NPP primary guidelines, Boateng contended that the aspiring candidate must show proof of his commitment to the party at the constituency.

According to the writ, Mr. Addai Nimo presented two different New Patriotic Party ID Cards. One was dated 4th January 2001, issued from Ablekuma Constituency in the Greater Accra Region. The other party card, which was registered on the 15th of January, 2008, was acquired just two months before the closure of nomination.

The writ said the Voters ID Card that Mr. Addai Nimo presented clearly showed that he does not vote in the Mampong Constituency but rather in the Greater Accra Region, which is contrary to the party's regulation, which states that a nominee must vote in the constituency for at least two years.

It also stated that at least six of the constituency executives explicitly made comments about his application forms to the effect that “He acquired Party Card from Mampong Constituency just two months before the closing of nomination, he is not known in the constituency, he does not vote in the constituency, he is dishonest”, the writ said.

It further stated that though there could be a waiver by the constituency Executives to qualify Mr. Addai-Nimo to contest the primary, there was no evidence that the Executives approved his nomination, since six out of the ten executives opposed his nomination.

Three persons contested the primary in which Mr. Addai-Nimo beat the incumbent MP by one vote. When Mr. Addai-Nimo was contacted, he referred this reporter to his Counsel.

However, his Counsel, pleading anonymity responded that all the allegations leveled by the Petitioner passed before the National Executive Committee, who approved the candidature of Mr. Addai-Nimo and was further endorsed by the delegates.

He contended that the NPP has some form of dispensation in their constitution which could be oral or written, so the issue being raised by the petitioner regarding the waiver would fail to fly.

The Youth Organiser of NPP and a member of the Vetting Committee, Mr. John Boadu, has however, decided to remain silent on the issue, but challenged that they would have to check the locus standing of the Petitioner.