There have been fallouts among National Democratic Congress (NDC) members in the Akuapem-South Constituency in the Eastern Region following the nomination of Paul Osae Offei as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Akuapem-South Municipal Assembly.
While some members of the party have welcomed the appointment, a separate group, mostly made up of the youth of the area, has publicly rejected the nomination.
But days to the confirmation exercise scheduled for Monday, May 12, 2025, some aggrieved supporters of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) are kicking against the choice of the nominee.
Paul Osae Offei, a known affiliate of the party, is among 33 nominees appointed by President Mahama on May April 30 to the Municipal and District Assemblies in the region.
Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Akuapem-South NDC, Francis Sakyi speaking in an interview outlined the basis for the agitations among the youth.
Among the litany of issues raised is the fact that the nominee hails from the Aburi zone, one of six in the constituency. According to the disciplinary committee chairman, it’s improper for the MCE to also come from the Aburi zone where most of the party’s executives hail from, a situation he said does not bode well for constituency balance.
“We have six zones in Akuapem-South; the chairman, organizer, Coordinator, women organizer and MCE nominee are all from the Aburi zone and this shouldn’t be the case,” he insisted adding that a fair distribution of the party’s representatives across the Constituency would enhance effective coordination and delivery.
He was of the opinion that other equally qualified candidates from the other zones should be prioritized in the selection process to ensure the fair distribution of the party and constituency leadership and appealed to President Mahama to listen to the agitations of the youth.
Also impugning inappropriate work record hanging on the neck of Osae, he alleged that his records at his former places of employment were unbecoming of a potential MCE. Citing the alleged improper work record with Osae’s former employees including the Akuapem Rural Bank and Peduase Resort, he said, “The guy has a bad record…he served as manager of Peduase Resort where his boss accused him of fraud,” he said.
Sakyi insisted that such a person should be disqualified, emphasizing that other nominees with unblemished records should be considered ahead of the nominee.
According to the aggrieved persons, due diligence ought to have been conducted into the background of the nominees to ensure that only someone without blemish would be selected to head the municipality. “A thorough background should’ve been done into the nominee’s background,” he stressed.
The youth therefore appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to ensure that the voice of the people is heard and their concerns duly addressed According to Sakyi, failure to heed the grievances of the youth could lead to dire consequences.