Edumadze To Run in 2008?

EDUMADZE PARTNERS ALIU
As he cuts a swathe across constituencies changing execs, defying presidential orders

ISAAC EDUASOR EDUMADZE, 48, the Central Regional Minister last week repeated with some heat, to a small bewildered audience at Ajumako Enyan Essiam that he is the only one from the area who has become a Regional Minister, and that he is on his way to bringing another distinction to the area by being the first to become the Vice President of Ghana in 2008 with His Excellency the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama.

He was charging at executives of the party in his Ajumako/Enyan/Essiam Constituency, whose wholesale removal he is alleged to have engineered last week and replaced with a faithful loyal band of executives. His more famous constituency organizer, since 1996, Mr. Alexander Inkoom, alias ?Iron Boy? was not spared in the clear-out.

The first overt sign of the Aliu-Edumadze electoral partnership became evident at the Edina Bakatue festival behind-the-scene wranglings, when he held meetings with party representatives and firmly asked his deputy, Nana Ato Arthur to leave, since he doubted his loyalty to him.

He went on to state publicly that if aspirants like Alan Kyerematen, Osafo Maafo and co were not greedy and power-hungry, they would defer to His Excellency Aliu as the automatic President of Ghana.

The Chronicle has been inundated with information from several parts of the central region and pockets of the western region that the mercurial Minister has been on the stumps, whipping up support for constituency and polling station executives who could be counted upon to support him and his Presidential candidate in next year?s NPP Congress which would elect a President from the long list of presidential aspirants in the ruling party.

At Assin North and South in the Central Region where Honourable Kennedy Agyepong and Professor Dominic Fobih were representatives of the constituencies in Parliament, there were desperate calls to the Chronicle that materials belonging to the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) were being purloined to influence polling station and constituency elections. In places further afield in Effiakuma, near Takoradi, in the western region, there were positive reports that Edumadze was seen and heard canvassing for the replacement of constituency executives who worked to hard to win the constituency for the incumbent Member of Parliament.

Matters came to a head yesterday when the member of Parliament for the Ketan Essikado constituency in the Western Region who is also the Deputy Attorney General, Honourable Joe Ghartey, put in a surprise appearance before a Cape Coast High Court judge in defence of 31-year former National Union of Ghana Students President and the President?s last appointee as DCE to Breman Asikuma Brakwa, Mr. Ebenezer Domson who has been blocked from taking over his full responsibilities as DCE because Edumadze had failed to release formal letters authorizing him(Domson) to take office. Indeed, a contempt charge had been brought against the Assembly and the DCE, initiated by one Phyllis Nyarko, which was being handled by former NDC MP Mr. Harry Hayford.

The Chronicle learnt that Honourable P.C. Ofori, the anti-corruption crusader, represents that constituency and is said to be a pet of the respected MP who battled Edumadze in Parliament, charging him and leveling several accusations against him in Parliament and that may have precipitated the bad blood and frosty relation with the youthful DCE.

Last week, the President?s office directed that Domson be allowed to take over from the Deputy Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur who had been acting as DCE in addition to his functions. The presence of Ghartey sent the chilly message across to Edumadze.

It became obvious that, it was the President who was calling the shots and not PC Ofori. There were suggestions that the Presiding member of the Odoben Brakwa Assembly, Nana Adutwum, who is also a chief of Breman Baako and who was party to the suit, was summoned by the Minister to explain the circumstances that precipitated the chaos in that constituency and demanded to know from the chief why the election to the assembly was held. However, the case itself could not proceed as the judge was absent and the case rescheduled for 31st of this month, and when asked to talk, the Presiding member declined to, pleading that once the mater is before the court, he would not utter a word.

Hon Joe Ghartey however personally drove the DCE to Breman Asikuma.