There is growing tension among members of the ruling National Democratic Congress over the position of Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), with some members agitating and opposing candidates who allegedly orchestrated the near defeat of the incumbent Member of Parliament in the recently held 2024 elections.
According to the aggrieved party members, they are very disappointed and angry that these same individuals will be presented for vetting for consideration for the position of Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), adding that it will aggravate the wounds of Hon Kofi Arkoe Nokoe, Member of Parliament (MP) for Evalue Ajomoro Gwira Constituency, in the course of his work.
Madam Augustina Tabuah Kwofie, a former parliamentary candidate and wife of the Evalue Ajomoro Gwira Constituency chairman, a known galamsey kingpin, Mr Emmanuel Annor-Kofi, was accused of masterminding and facilitating the near defeat of the incumbent Member of Parliament Hon Kofi Arkoe Nokoe in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
According to sources close to the party’s constituency office in Axim, the livid couple, thus the current chairman (Emmanuel Annor-Kwofie) and his wife (Madam Augustina Tebuah Kwofie), after losing the parliamentary primaries to Hon Kofi Arkoe Nokoe, promised to make every effort to defeat the Member of Parliament.
The couples were accused of arranging hooligans to boo and humiliate prominent party members in the western area. Nana Toku, the regional chairman, was dubbed a ‘fool’, stupid and dumb for supporting Hon Kofi Arkoe Nokoe’s campaign during a press conference held in Apewosika, a suburb of Axim.
Mame Ama Ntefo, a fishmonger and staunch NDC supporter, chastised the couple for displaying political immaturity on the part of the constituency chairman and his wife, going so far as to attack the personality of Hon Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and Deputy Majority Leader, and Hon Affoe-Toffey for supporting the candidature of the area’s incumbent Member of Parliament (MP).
“I was so disappointed when the supporters of Madam Tebuah Kwofie hooted at Hon Kofi Arkoe Nokoe at the presence of President John Mahama when he visited the chiefs and people of Axim immediately after the primaries and I didn’t like what they did” explained Mame Ama.
Another irritated supporter, Uncle Charles Kwofie, expressed his displeasure with the party executives, particularly the regional executives, for allowing the chairman’s wife to submit her documents for the MCE position, as well as some of his accomplices, primarily constituency executives, allowing the constituency women’s organiser, Yvette Enu-Kwesi, and the secretary, Gideon Ansah-Mensah, to run for the MCE position.
He went on to say that these elements in the party, led by the constituency chairman’s wife (Madam Augustina Ama Tebua), launched Operation’skirt and blouse’, inciting voters to vote for John Mahama and Catharine Ablema Afeku, the NPP parliamentary candidate, over the NDC’s Kofi Arkoe Nokoe, and that this spread throughout the constituency.
“Even in her backyard, Gwira Banso, where the NDC has never lost, she (Madam Ama Tebua, the designated party agent) ensured that the NDC parliamentary candidate lost at all eight voting stations. They also tried this agenda skirt and blouse in the Apewoska electoral area, the NDC’s heartland, but thankfully some key persons intervened and ensured we won barely, and the entire purpose of this agenda was to pave the way for her to fight in 2028.” Uncle Charles contributed.
We, the grassroots, will not support any candidate who will come and work against a sitting Member of Parliament simply because she wants to become a Member of Parliament. Can you imagine the chairman and his family rejecting gifts and items from the sitting Member of Parliament when he (the constituency chairman) was bereaved, but wholeheartedly and openly accepting donations and gifts from Madam Afeku, our opponent? Is it not a mark of immaturity from the couple? He quizzed.
Mr Ben Asmah, a party cadre, urged the executives to reject all individuals who publicly endorsed and campaigned for MCE in skirts and blouses, as their actions were detrimental to the party’s progress. “This is the first time in the history of Evalue Gwira that a sitting MP has won back-to-back. We should not allow moles to come and destroy the party for their selfish gains.” He added that the chairman and his wife are only interested in the position to activate their galamsey business, which the party should not allow.
They all called on both national and regional executives to consider nominating a candidate that would complement the work of the sitting Member of Parliament and the right person Herbert Kuah Dickson who has shown loyalty, dedication and hard work to the fortunes of the party.
They added that the candidature of Herbert Kuah Dickson is the perfect match to help the Member of Parliament achieve his vision and mission.
In a related development, a petition delivered to both the regional chairman and secretary earlier last week by Mr John Abugri, the party’s former constituency secretary, listed and substantiated the claims levied against the couple and their surrogates
Attached is the full text of the petition submitted to the Western regional executives through the chairman.