Assin North by-election: What is the use of voting for someone going to jail – Akufo-Addo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has taken a swipe at the ousted Member of Parliament (MP) for the Assin North Constituency, James Gyakye Quayson.

Speaking to residents of Assin North, on Sunday, June 27, 2023, at a Church of Pentecost in the constituency, Akufo-Addo refuted assertions that himself and his New Patriotic Party (NPP) government are the ones behind the prosecution of the removed MP. He told the residents that it’s the laws of the country that is catching up with Gyakye Quayson.

The president added that there is no use in voting for an MP who is going to be jailed, as he was reacting to claims by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that Quayson would be voted for even if he is jailed.

“I have heard him (Quayson) say that even if he is in prison, you would vote for him. Eiii! What is the use of voting for someone who would be going to jail? What benefit are we going to get from that?

“We want someone who after the election can come to me so we sit and find solutions to your challenges,” he said in the Twi dialect, as he was pointing to the candidate of the NPP for the by-elections; Charles Opoku.

Akufo-Addo also donated a total of GH¢150,000 to the Church of Pentecost to support the construction of Pentecost University in Assin North.

Background:

The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP)

Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu declared that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vrs James Gyakye Quayson case.

According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.

Parliament subsequently declared the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the Electoral Commission of Ghana announcing a by-election on May 27, 2023, to fill the seat.

But there is still one case the former MP has to face in court after the Office of the Attorney General accused him of deceiving public officers to acquire state documents.

On February 12, 2022, the State charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.

Watch Akufo-Addo's remarks in the video below:



You can also catch up on the third episode of Everyday People below:





IB/WA