Evil dwarfs block Kofi Adams

Johnson Asiedu Nketia

The hopes and aspirations of the spokesman for former President Rawlings, Kofi Adams, to represent the people of Buem in the Volta Region on the ticket of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been dashed following his disqualification from the parliamentary primary.

This was after he came under stiff opposition from some party chiefs he called 'evil'  and 'liars' who protested against him because of his  suspension from the party on charges of indiscipline over an audio recording attributed to him.

Party General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who made the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NDC public, said they could not allow him to contest in the upcoming parliamentary primary in the Buem constituency on the ticket of the party because the ban placed on him had not been lifted.

But an obviously distraught Kofi Adams wrote on his Facebook wall yesterday 'the evil men do will live after them.'

According to him, 'the evil ones in the party have decided to deny Buem constituency to have me as their representative.'

Blame game
Mr Adams, who spoke on various radio networks yesterday, blamed Mr Asiedu Nketiah and the National Chairman of the NDC, Dr Kwabena Adjei for his woes.

He, however, noted 'I leave it to God' whilst thanking all those who believed and supported his cause.

Speaking on Joy FM yesterday, Kofi Adams, who was suspended from his position as Deputy General Secretary of the party, described Asiedu Nketiah, the man nicknamed General Mosquito, as a liar.

This was after Asiedu-Nketiah indicated that the party could not allow him to contest the by-election because he had not been reinstated as a member of the party. 'He is on suspension and all his rights have been extinguished temporarily,' the party boss said.

But an obviously embittered Mr. Adams said they had only succeeded in disqualifying him from contesting the primaries, 'but not in the actual by-election' and that 'the General Secretary for once must get it right; the party is not run on his head, the party is run with a constitution…'

For him, the decision to disqualify him was a bad one and denied not making any conscious efforts to get the matter resolved.

He disclosed that he personally asked Mr. Ken Dzirasah, former deputy speaker to get the matter resolved.

However, he claimed the leadership of the NDC was not ready for a resolution.

'When you have a General Secretary that comes to public to speak lies, this is what happens…You can't have a General Secretary that comes out because you hate somebody, and be spewing falsehood…If you say you don't want me to contest, say so, but don't say things that don't exist.'

News of his disqualification came as a surprise to constituents of Buem; some of whom have since urged Mr. Adams to go independent.

The plot
This was after the Volta regional executives of the party who conducted the vetting of aspirants for the seat referred the outcome of the vetting process to the NEC for consideration.

A source told DAILY GUIDE a directive was earlier issued from the national headquarters asking the regional executives not to include Mr Adams in the vetting process.  But Adams was said to have protested the decision when he heard of it on the vetting day.

He is reported to have sought audience with the regional executives to explain his position on the issue. After granting him hearing, the regional executives were said to have referred the matter to the NEC.

Sources close to the committee said the NEC was divided over whether or not to allow Kofi Adams to contest in the primaries in view of his standoff with the party.

Meanwhile, a group calling itself 'Friends of Kofi Adams' has served notice to petition the party against the decision.

The spokesperson for the group, Iddrisu Hamdu, told Citi FM'we will petition the party but also organize, within the constituency, for him to go [contest] as an independent candidate.

'The party must explain to the whole world the article they used within the constitution of our party [NDC] to disqualify Kofi Adams. We are charging Asiedu-Nketia and his cohort to come out and tell us where and when there has been any article against him (Adams),' he said.

The Buem constituency was declared vacant after the death of the MP, Henry Ford Kamel.

By Charles Takyi-Boadu & Fred Duodu