Kofi Asante Steals Show

The former NDC MP for Amenfi West, Mr. Kofi Asante, was the toast of delegates at the NPP primaries in Koforidua, when he unexpectedly turned up at the keenly contested New Juaben South primaries at Koforidua.

Mr. Asante who resigned as an NDC parliamentarian amid the party?s 2002 national congress blues, was given a loud and sustained applause from the delegates, when he was introduced by Lord Commey to the congress, as a special guest to the primaries. The primaries itself, which was full of tension, generated a lot of interest for the NPP hierarchy, as well as the constituents. In a chat, Mr. Asante hinted that his presence at NPP primaries was not because he wants to be a member of NPP, but because the sitting MP, Yaw Barima is his bosom friend.

?I am here, because Hon. Yaw Barima has been a very good friend of mine in Parliament and also in the ECOWAS Parliament when we both represented Ghana in that regional parliament, he asserted. Asked if he intends to defect to NPP, he noted that he did not want to go into that, because at the moment, he is concentrating on his consultancy work. During the primaries, the incumbent, who is also the minister for manpower development, Yaw Barima emerged the winner. He defeated his close opponent, Mrs. Beatrice Boateng with 58 votes as against her 35 votes.