Drama at Minister’s office

…Defeated NPP Candidate condemns Deputy Minister for masterminding his defeat Sunyani, Dec. 15, Chronicle -- The Office of the Brong Ahafo Regional Deputy Minister, Mr. Yaw Adjei Duffour was the centre of attraction, as drama unfolded between the deputy minister and Mr. Kwasi Adu-Gyan, the parliamentary candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), over the loss of the seat to NDC.

Both, Mr. Duffour and Mr. Adu-Gyan and two executives of the party, accompanied Mr. Adu-Gyan from Jema nearly turned the hot argument into a brawls but for the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Ignatius Baffour-Awuah who managed to to cool down the tempers of the two NPP gurus.

Also present at the office were the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman of theNPP, Mr. Kwadwo Yeboah Fordjour and some journalists who had gone there earlier to cross-check allegations made against the deputy minister by some NPP youth in a press conference held at Jema on Sunday December 12.

The journalists were sitting down quietly, looking on whilst Mr. Duffour and Mr. Adu-Gyan's entourage engaged themselves in fierce argument.

Mr. Adu-Gyan, in a verbal confrontation, accused the deputy minister of working against him and the NPP, hence their defeat in the constituency.

According to the parliamentary candidate, a day before the elections, some allies of the deputy minister were seen distributing cutlasses and other items to some communities in the area to vote against he Adu-Gyan.

At the office of the deputy minister, the defeated parliamentary candidate said, “wo die na hia”, (meaning its yours that matters), “because you don't have any career and I have a career.” Mr. Duffour replied, “ I have a career too.” Here, Mr. Adu-Gyan intervened and said, “your career is under a mango tree.”

The deputy minister rebuked him, “do you think it was dollars they used to win the elections”? This war of words continued until the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive and others present managed to cool tempers down.

Mr. Adu-Gyan who claimed he has a tape of all the deputy minister had done against him, threatened to play it to the hearing of all present, but later decided against that, saying he would only play it to the hearing of the Brong Ahafo Chairman of the NPP and not in the office of the deputy minister.

To ensure peace in the deputy minister's office, the chairman, Fordjour decided to go out with Mr. Adu-Gyan and his entourage to the residency for further deliberations on the matter.

Mr. Duffour had denied the entire allegations earlier during a meeting with the media, before the arrival of Mr. Adu-Gyan, a communications expert and Advisor to the Minister of Communication and Technology.

Mr. Duffour pointed out to the defeated Parliamentary candidate that an agenda embarked on by Mr. Adu-Gyan and his group was earmarked to get him removed from office as a deputy minister by President Kufour. According to Mr. Dufour, he had never campaigned against the NPP Parliamentary Candidate, but rather went round with the campaign team of Kintampo South to the villages to canvass for Mr. Adu-Gyan and the NPP.

The deputy minister in some instances distributed four bicycles to four communities as his widow's mite to enhance the campaign activities of Mr. Adu-Gyan and this was captured by The Chronicle.

But the youth, in a press conference held at Jema had said Mr. Duffour later went back to some of the communities to reverse the support he had declared before the electorates during their campaign tour.

In a press statement issued and signed by seven acting Executive members of the NPP youth in Kintampo South, they accused the minister of having formed a rival executive group with its members coming from his camp.