NDC clarifies disqualification of Michael Nii Yarboi from Odododiodio parliamentary primary

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has explained that the decision to disqualify one Michael Nii Yarboi Annan from contesting the party’s Parliamentary primary in the Odododiodio constituency was taken by the Functional Executive Committee of the party.

The disqualification, upheld by FEC, was based on the findings and recommendations of the Special Committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho.

The committee investigated both Michael Nii Yarboi Annan’s eligibility and the violence that marred the vetting of Parliamentary Aspirants on October 13, 2023.

The Adjaho Committee’s report, released by the NDC leadership for transparency, cites Article 41(8)(b) of the NDC Constitution, stating that a member must be an active party member at the constituency level for the four years preceding the nomination date.

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The committee found Annan did not meet this requirement in addition to the number of key findings outlined:

1. The Committee discovered that Michael Nii Yarboi Annan was formerly a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who contested and lost the NPP parliamentary primary in the Odododiodio Constituency in September 2019.

2. During interactions with the constituency executives, a few of them expressed dissatisfaction with an ex-NPP member like Mr. Annan being allowed to contest in the NDC parliamentary primary, when he doesn’t meet the mandatory four-year membership requirement.

3. The Committee found that Mr. Annan had financially supported the election campaign of most of the constituency executives during the 2022 constituency elections, including some of the executives who are now opposed to him.

4. The Committee also found that Mr. Annan had financially supported several NDC party activities in the Odododiodio constituency with the endorsement of the Member of Parliament and members of the Constituency Executive Committee.

5. During Committee discussions, it was revealed that a secret oral agreement had been arrived at, between the Member of Parliament for Odododiodio, the Constituency Chairman, and the Constituency Deputy Secretary to make Mr. Annan a member of the party in the Constituency. The three (the MP, the Chairman, and the then Deputy Secretary) claimed, that the secret oral agreement was a strategy. Interestingly the then Constituency Secretary, who is now a parliamentary aspirant by name Alfred Nii Kotey Ashie, was excluded from this meeting. No evidence could be found to support the claim that the leadership of the party at the national level had been properly informed about this secret agreement.

6. The Committee found that the “NDC Laryea House Branch” register, contains the name of Mr. Michael Nii Yarboi Annan as having been registered as a member of the NDC in 2019. A careful examination of the register showed no signs of cancellation or substitution. Neither is there any evidence that shows that the register has been tampered with.

7. The Committee found that Mr. Annan has in his possession one of the old NDC membership cards (the foldable card with membership number H200630068 showing payment of dues starting from January 2017 to 2019, even though Mr. Annan is supposed to have been registered in the database of the NDC in 2019.

8. The foldable card has Mr. Annan’s EC voter ID number as 4449012952 but a scrutiny revealed that the said voter ID number was acquired in July 2020. The Committee found this to be a mystery. The committee was at a loss as to how a 2019 NDC membership card could bear an EC Voter ID card number of 2020. When questioned about this, Mr. Annan said that the ID anomalies were not due to his actions, as the NDC registration card was presented to him by the Constituency Chairman.

9. The Committee also found, that Mr. Annan has one of the new NDC membership cards, but that card has no slot for the date of issuance. Effectively, there is nothing on the face of the card to indicate when it was issued.

10. Further findings revealed that Mr. Annan held the position of Branch Chairman in Laryea’s House Branch effective 2022, even though he had not met the four-year requirement to be a branch executive per the Constitution and the branch reorganization guidelines of the party.

11. Despite Mr. Annan’s claim of joining the NDC in 2019, evidence was adduced to show that he was still publicly associating with the NPP after 2019. Examples are:

a. a poster with the face of Mr. Annan, advertising a political discussion on a program known as “The Voice” (which is an NPP program) to take place on July 27, 2020, in which he was described as “a security analyst and member of the NPP”, and spoke on behalf of the NPP.

Mr. Annan did not dispute this when questioned. Mr. Annan went to the programme and spoke as a representative of the NPP.

b. a Facebook post dated February 12, 2021, in which Mr. Annan indicated that he had officially informed some opinion leaders and members of his campaign team of his decision to defect from the NPP to the NDC. FEC endorsed the committee’s findings, leading to the disqualification of Annan.

The NDC stressed that this decision aligns with the party’s commitment to upholding rules and principles of equity, fairness, and justice.

It emphasized that no member is above its established rules, and adherence to the Constitution is paramount.

General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, in a statement warned that any member disregarding the laid-down grievance resolution procedures would face severe consequences, emphasizing the party’s commitment to discipline and the prevention of acts that could tarnish its reputation.

“Throughout the conduct of the party’s parliamentary primaries from last year till date, any aspirant who is in breach of the mandatory 4-year membership requirement has been disqualified by the party. It cannot be different for Michael Nii Yarboi Annan,” he said.

The party urged its members to respect the internal procedures for addressing grievances.