NPP in gargantuan mischief...

As it gives aspiring candidate raw deal

The undisputed mischief title holders in Ghanaian politics, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was at its best over the weekend when it used a well orchestrated game plan to cause the defeat of one of the aspirants in the primary to elect a parliamentary candidate for the Bekwai Constituency in the Ashanti Region.

The party’s wicked agenda was to link the former Member of Parliament of the area, Mr. Kofi Poku Adusei, to President John Mahama, claiming Mr. Adusei was financed by the President.

To ensure the effective result of the plan, the Bekwai township was plastered with poster depicting President Mahama and Mr. Adusei.

The primary at Bekwai was among the four constituencies the NPP never had candidate because of various reasons.

Mr. Joe Osei Wusu, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), is the Member of Parliament.

He, however, won the seat as an Independent candidate.

Mr. Adusei announced his boycott of the race minutes before the start of voting, citing the widespread display of ‘President Mahama and Adusei poster allegedly linking him to the sitting President as his financier.

Again, he blamed his exit on the suspension of 16 zonal coordinators by the regional executives and the non-issuance of accreditation to 40 others.

Upon seeing the Mahama and Adusei posters displayed at the venue for the event, Bekwai Methodist Church, angry followers of the aggrieved contender destroyed them without recourse to the heavy police presence.

This development lessened interest, as it turned out to be a one-sided show for the incumbent MP, Joseph Osei Wusu.

When this reporter caught up with Mr. Poku Adusei on his next line of action, he described as undemocratic how the party executives had carried themselves to ensure that the sitting MP go unopposed .

“I have my own reservations about the so-called democracy in the NPP particularly the Bekwai Constituency”, he emphasized.

On his alleged deals with President Mahama, he flatly denied, saying “how can someone I don’t share the same ideology with be my financier?”

Voting ended around 1 p. m., and the results, as declared by the Electoral Commission representative, Kwabena Asante Boahene, indicated that the sitting MP Joe Osei Wusu polled 417 votes as against 37 for Kofi Poku Adusei, while 4 ballots got spoilt.

Regional Party Chairman, Mr. Fredrick Antoh rebuffed complaints by Mr. Poku Adusei, saying “we had no plans of gagging him or anyone in the race”. He added, “We gave him a chance to say something even in front of the delegates but he refused to do so”.