Three 'sins' of Kwesi Nyantakyi in NPP Ejisu primary

The bid by the former president of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi to use Parliament as a route to public office suffered a major setback after he lost the New Patriotic Party’s parliamentary primary for the Ejisu constituency on Saturday, April 13, 2024.

Nyantakyi, who described himself as Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the polls, has been out of public office since losing his executive positions at the Ghana Football Association, FIFA and CAF in 2018, following the airing of the Number12 investigative documentary.

The Ejisu contest was thus seen by Nyantakyi and his team as a perfect opportunity for him to make a comeback in the public space.

But as it turned out, private legal practitioner, Kwabena Boateng won the primary held on Saturday, April 13, 2024, with 394 of the total votes cast while Nyantakyi polled a disappointing 35 votes.

GhanaWeb highlights the three things that might have cost Nyantakyi a ticket to Parliament

$100,000 bribe confession

For most political watchers, Kwesi Nyantakyi’s confession of paying $100,000 to supposed intermediaries of investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas to have his part of the Number12 documentary deleted was not just bizarre but also suicidal.

The argument is that Kwesi Nyantakyi’s decision to not just resurrect the Number12 saga but also implicate himself in a possible bribery scheme gave credence to the accusations made against him by Anas and therefore made him unfit to be a member of an institution like Parliament.

In the view of the critics, the delegates of Ejisu would have elected a self-confessed bribe payer to Parliament had they given him the nod.

Late confirmation of interest in vacant seat

Kwesi Nyantakyi made public his intentions of contesting the Ejisu seat on March 26, 2024. At the time he came out to announce his consideration of the position, some names including that of the eventual winner, Kwabena Boateng were already out.

During an interview in Kumasi at the launch of the New Patriotic Party’s Ashanti Regional Campaign team, Nyantakyi subtly revealed his intentions to participate in the Ejisu by-election once the official timetable was announced.

“The Ejisu by-election will definitely come on, but the timetable has not been published yet so we don’t know those who want to contest. Since I come from there and I have the right to contest, at the right time, we’ll see what will happen.

“But at the moment, we are mourning the demise of a very dear son of the constituency. The death of the Member of Parliament John Kumah is a big loss to the constituency and so let’s see what happens after the one-week observation,” Nyantakyi stated.

Kwabena Boateng who is well known in the constituency was already on the grounds, vigorously campaigning and selling his message while Nyantakyi, per his statement, was still mulling over the decision to contest or otherwise.

Kwabena Boateng and the other candidates, therefore had a head start when it came to preparations for the primary.

Not quite popular with the grassroots

Kwesi Nyantakyi’s association with the New Patriotic Party, up until the day he confirmed his interest in contesting the Ejisu seat had been purely speculative.

While his connections with Kennedy Agyapong may have pointed to the fact that he was a member of the party, it had always been argued that he was more of a friend of the Assin Central lawmaker than a card-bearing member of the party who was actively involved in politics at the grassroots level.

Again, while Nyantakyi had connections with Ejisu where his mother hails from, little is known about his involvement in activities of the constituency.

Compared to the eventual winner who was the second vice chairman of the party in the constituency, Kwesi Nyantakyi is largely known for his football administrative exploits in Wa, Accra and Kumasi through his support of Asante Kotoko.

This means that on the grounds, he was not really popular within the constituency and his 35 votes despite his national profile is indicative of how unattached or unpopular he is in the constituency.

EK