Ablekuma North NPP petitions Akufo-Addo for removal of Kofi Ofori as MCE

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Executives in the Ablekuma North Municipality are calling for the removal from office of their Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Kofi Ofori.

The Executives are petitioning President Akufo-Addo on account that the MCE is demonstrating a poor attitude towards the NPP and its executives, which resulted in the party’s decline in votes in the 2020 general elections and apathy among party and assembly members.

According to the petitioners, NPP’s votes declined from 54,740 (66.76%) in 2016 to 53,352 (62.65%) in 2020 whereas the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) increased its votes from 26,658 (32.51%) in 2016 to 31,031 (36.44%) in 2020.

In a five-page document, the petitioners made 17 allegations against Mr. Ofori who is popularly known as Bella. Among the allegations is his neglect of the NPP party; he does not involve the party and its executives in decision making, according to the petitioners.

He is also accused of hesitating to meet the full budget request of the NPP presented to him for operational work during the National Identification Exercise. According to the petitioners, though the full budgeted amount was taken from the assembly’s coffers, only part — GHC2,000 — of it was given to them. As a result, the MP supported the party and its executives in the operational work with his own money.

Prior to that, the NPP constituency executives accused him of supporting the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party with an amount of GHC1,000 for operational work during the Limited Voter Registration Exercise in 2019 and telling the NPP executives he could not work with them.

They further alleged that Mr. Ofori has been conspiring with some chiefs of the municipality to sell out lands designated for specific purposes by the previous administration. According to them, some residents sent letters to him over reported encroachments on a land earmarked for a market in Kwashibu but he failed to respond, a situation which raised suspicions and frustrated the residents and informed their decision not to vote for the NPP in the just-ended elections.

Mr. Ofori is also alleged to have been constantly mistreating the former MP for the constituency, Madam Akua Owusu Afriyeh. The petitioners noted for instance that he warned the former MP’s driver he “does not want to see any vehicle branded with pictures of both the former MP and the President at the premises of the assembly.” This also, according to them, infuriated some party loyalists who decided to vote against the NPP if he is not changed.

Beyond that, the MCE is reported to have threatened to sack some Polling Station Executives working at the Municipality if they failed to endorse his preferred candidate [Sheila Bartels] in the NPP parliamentary primaries.

Petitioners also accuse him of openly telling some Polling Station Executives and members of the Party that “he could not work with the former MP [Madam Akua Owusu Afriyeh], therefore, they should vote against her.”

Attempts to get the MCE, Kofi Ofori, to respond to the claims by his party executives against him, have, however, proved futile as he was not available to answer his phone neither did he replied text messages sent to his phone.

The petitioners include Madam Becky Hesse-Lartey, the Constituency 1st Vice-Chairperson; Irene Siaw, Constituency 2nd Vice-Chairperson; Samuel Yaw Larbi, Constituency Secretary; Emmanuel Owusu Constituency Treasurer and Felicia Okanta, Constituency Financial Sectrary.

The others are Augustine Oduro, Constituency Deputy Organizer; Hajia Sulley Rukayatu, Constituency Deputy Women Organizer; Hajia Abubakaru Brama, Constituency Youth Organizer, Isaac Ababio, Constituency Deputy Youth Organizer; Alhaji Mohammed N. Labaran, Constituency Nasara Coordinator and Alhaji Bunyaminu S. Maikankan, Constituency Deputy Nasara Coordinator.

The rest are Kwame Babinton, Constituency Research and Elections Officer; Samuel Brayn Buabeng, Constituency Communication Officer, Kwaku Duah, Constituency Organizer and Afia Sefa-Agyemang, Constituency Women Organizer.