Yamoah Ponkoh’s nomination withdrawn

Reports reaching DAILY GUIDE indicate that the appointment of Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh, President Mahama’s nominee for the position of Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ejisu-Juaben Assembly, has been withdrawn.

According to sources close to the assembly, Mr Ponkoh has been replaced with Nana Prempeh, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate, following a meeting held among officers at the ward and constituency levels, some members of the National Executive Committee and the regional executive committee.

Yet there is no official communication from the presidency to authenticate Yamoah Ponko’s withdrawal. The nominee still has the opportunity to seek re-election from the assembly members, the Ashanti Regional Minister, John Alexander Ackon, has said.

Mr Yamoah Ponkoh has been under pressure after his rejection on April 12, 2016 by the members of the assembly.

The rejected nominee has since accused the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, as the architect behind his defeats. The assembly members voted 38 to 30 against his reappointment by President John Dramani Mahama as the MCE.

DAILY GUIDE sources at the Flagstaff House, however, said the loquacious politician’s nomination as the MCE has been withdrawn, even though government has been silent on the issue.

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The Ashanti Regional Minister, a source claimed, would continue to act until a new person is appointed to take over the job.

Speaking in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, Mr Ackon dismissed the rumour and stated that the president has the prerogative to re-nominate Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh for the MCE post, despite the expiration of the 10-day deadline.

According to Mr Ackon, until an official communication stating otherwise, Yamoah Ponkoh remains the nominee to be endorsed by the assembly members after securing more than 50 percent of the votes.

The Presiding Member of the assembly, Ansah Sasraku, shares in the minister’s position on the matter.

He told this paper that he had not received any correspondence from the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry or the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council to indicate Mr Yamoah Ponkoh’s withdrawal and replacement with another person.

As with the race to the MCE post, the ideal candidate will have to attract votes across the political divide to become successful so a key indicator will be not just NDC constituency executives’ endorsement, but one who has the most impressive support of NPP members at the assembly as well.