The Director of Legal Affairs for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako, has dismissed claims that the ongoing developments in Assin North are due to the upcoming by-election.
Mr. Nimako emphasized that the timing of the developments coinciding with the announcement of the by-election by the Electoral Commission is purely coincidental.
“We have always been working at Assin North, it is not because of by-election. We knew from day one that this gentleman [Gyakye Quayson] was not qualified, he wasn’t eligible to contest the election. So the Chiefs and Opinion Leaders approached the executives and put their concerns regarding roads before them and it was done for them and it is still ongoing.
“So it is not necessarily the declaration of the by-election by the EC that prompted the executives to go there to do any development work. It is an ongoing project,” Mr Nimako said during an interview on the Big Issue on Saturday, June 3.
Recent repairs to certain roads in Assin Bereku, the district capital of Assin North, have sparked speculation among residents that the upcoming by-election has provided an opportunity to address long-standing issues of neglected infrastructure.
“We are not surprised by the road construction. We express gratitude to James Gyakye Quayson for exerting pressure on the government. Just as mankind benefited from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, James Gyakye Quayson has had a similar impact,” commented an anonymous resident to Citi News.
In response, Abraham Amaliba, the Director of Legal Affairs for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), criticized the NPP for allegedly neglecting the people of Assin North.
He added that the NPP will be punished during the upcoming by-election.
Mr. Amaliba, however, defended the party’s endorsement of James Gyakye-Quayson as their candidate for the by-election.
“Putting Gyakye-Quayson is a risk worth taking,” Mr Amaliba said, adding, “The prosecution must prove that he had a criminal mind so the bar is high and that is why I would advise my General Secretary to put him up because he is a strong candidate for the constituency”
“They [NPP] are afraid of him and that is why when the Supreme Court ruled they quickly tried to cripple him by slapping criminal charges against him thinking we as a political party will abandon him so that they would have a field day.”