Offinso South NPP Supporters Besiege Headquarters

Some aggrieved members of the Offinso South Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday besieged the party headquarters in Accra to protest against the alleged suspension of the primary to elect a parliamentary candidate for the party.

Wearing red arm bands and headgears, with others wearing red attire, the members, numbering over 70, came to Accra around 4.am.They peacefully waited till around 11.45 am when the National Organiser of the NPP, Mr Lord Commey, came to receive their petition.

Presenting the petition, the Constituency Secretary, Mr Kofi Awua Amoako, said after the opening of nominations, both the incumbent MP, Mr Kwadwo Sarfo, and one Mr Kwadwo Kusi Boachie applied.“After the vetting, Mr Boachie held a press conference and withdrew his nomination, though the party executive in the constituency had already disqualified him on the grounds that he had not been a paid up member for two years and also had questionable character,” he said.

Mr Amoako said that just as the constituency was about to organise the primary to proclaim their candidate, the regional executive asked them to postpone the primary to last Friday, which they obliged.

According to him, they were asked to postpone it to Monday, only to be told again that the primary had been postponed indefinitely.“What we do not understand is that although Mr Boachie had stepped down aside being disqualified, some few elements within the constituency have connived with Mr Boachie to announce that the President has asked him to stand,” he alleged.

He stated that the incumbent MP is one of the hardworking MPs and had also paid his dues to the party “ and needs protection and not discouragement, sabotage and undermining, after he had gone through the vetting without problems''.

The secretary warned that the executive members of the constituency,plus 70 per cent of the polling station chairmen, were “prepared to acclaim the MP if the national and regional executives do not respond to this our protest by the close of this week''.Mr Commey commended the members for the peaceful manner in which they have registered their protest .