Ashaiman NDC fires Portuphy

Some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ashaiman Constituency have condemned their National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy for creating tension in the party in the constituency.

According to them, the national chairman of the NDC has planted parliamentary aspirants in some constituencies and has been supporting them financially to topple incumbent candidates in the forthcoming NDC parliamentary primaries for his personal gain.

The aggrieved members also criticized some party executives at the constituency and national level for making threatening statements that NDC would lose the Ashiaman parliamentary seat in the 2016 general elections if Alfred Kwame Agbesi, the incumbent MP wins in the primaries. Chairman of the Ashaiman NDC Taskforce, Jacob Salifu Yakubu, speaking with DAILY GUIDE, pointed out that “we have been silent for long because we feel we are all NDC but some members of the party want to take advantage of our silence.”

Mr. Portuphy, he noted, has been going round campaigning for a particular candidate and telling supporters of the party that “when Lawyer Alfred Kwame Agbesi wins the parliamentary primary, the party will lack a message to propagate and the NDC cannot campaign.”

He cried: “I am telling you the truth that our national chairman is creating problems in Ashaiman because of his selfish interest to get the chairmanship again in 2020 but we the Ashaiman Taskforce of which I am the chairman, will not allow him.”

The taskforce chairman is warning the national chairman to stay away from issues concerning the Ashaiman constituency and concentrate on his duty at the national level. “He is creating problem. We are telling him to leave Ashaiman alone, there are people who work before the party came to power, and he only became chairman. He did not do anything for the party before the party came to power so he should not create any problem for the party in Ashaiman.

“I am blaming him as the taskforce chairman, and I will blame him every day and night. He should not bring his dubious ways and means he employed to win his chairmanship to Ashaiman, he should not bring that modus operandi here,” the angry taskforce chairman charged.

The Secretary of the taskforce, Emmanuel Opare, addressing a press conference in Ashaiman, yesterday cautioned a section of the party to desist from creating confusion and panic within the NDC in the constituency.

“The taskforce has been silent over some activities of some aspirants as well as some executives in relation to the upcoming parliamentary primaries. It is time we speak now. We are saying unequivocally that we would no longer tolerate that from anybody,” the secretary retorted. He advised aspirants who might be disqualified during the vetting for the primaries to remain resolute and support the party for victory in the 2016 polls.