‘Flagstaff House controlled primaries in Ashanti’

Details have started emerging about alleged roles played by the Presidency and National Security to manipulate the outcomes of the just-ended presidential and parliamentary primaries held by the ruling National Democratic Congress(NDC) over the weekend.

Barely 24 hours after the primaries, which recorded pockets of violence across the country, some defeated candidates in some constituencies in the Ashanti Region have been unearthing what, they said, was a grand conspiracy by Flagstaff House, the seat of Government, and National Security, which culminated in their inability to win their respective constituencies.

The aggrieved candidates are pointing accusing fingers at the Presidency and the security apparatus for masterminding their defeats, alleging that their opponents enjoyed support from the powers that be, a situation, which they claim, discredited the credibility of the polls.

Defeated candidates in the Suame, Ejisu and the Atwima Kwanwoma Constituencies have been licking their wounds, firing tantrums in their attempts to explain the reasons that led to their defeats.

Francis Dodovi, Afrifah Yamoah Ponkoh and Mr. Tony Nyame respectively, disclosed in separate interviews on Nhyira FM in Kumasi yesterday that their defeats were hugely influenced by certain hidden hands, though they preferred to treat the issues as an internal party affair, and not wash their dirty linen in public.

Their claim has also been corroborated by a confidant of the President and a popular Kumasi-based NDC serial caller, Appiah Stadium, who was categorical in his assertion that he had in his hands the list of all candidates who received keen support from the two powerful state institutions.

The aggrieved aspirants, though proved evasive, did not hide their disappointments in the events leading to their defeats, describing it as unfortunate.

Appiah Stadium was first to set the ball rolling, when he directly accused the Regional Security Coordinator, Enoch, of leading the assault against the defeated candidates.

The NDC serial caller said he personally saw a list of candidates who were enjoying sponsorship from the Flagstaff House from the Regional Security Coordinator, and mentioned names like Brogya Genfi of Suame, Gloria Huze of Ejisu, and the Ashanti Regional Minister, Peter Anarfi Mensah, as being beneficiaries.

The first two candidates, Brogya Genfi and Gloria Huze, won their respective constituencies, whilst the Regional Minister failed to secure the bid, having been humiliated by the incumbent, Akwasi Adusei.

However, efforts to get the Regional Security Coordinator to respond to the allegations proved unyielding, as he refused to pick several calls to his phone. Tony Nyame, who is a former Distric Chief Executive (DCE) for Atwima Kwanwoma, warned that the developments could seriously affect the party’s chances at retaining power in 2016, as well as the one million votes agenda.

According to him, in spite of the internal wrangling within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), the ruling NDC will lose the elections, if the current hypocrisy and the ‘pull him down’ attitude within the party is not nipped in the bud.

On his part, Brogya Genfi, who was a beneficiary of the alleged mastermind, as claimed by Appiah Stadium, also refused to discuss details of the elections when called on the phone, and pleaded with the popular NDC serial caller not to disclose any further secret information on air.