Four NPP executives removed from office

Koforidua, Jan. 29, GNA - Some 75 polling station chairpersons in the Abuakwa South Constituency branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) last Friday resolved to remove four constituency executive members from office.

At a special meeting held at Kyebi, the polling station chairpersons accused the four officers of gross misconduct, alleging that they persistently conducted themselves in acts injurious to the good name and running of the Party in the constituency.

The four executive members were Mr Abu Bonsrah, First Vice-Chairman, Madam Georgina Anim, Treasurer, Nana Owusu Agyemang, Youth Organiser and Madam Emma Obeng, Assistant Secretary, according to a press release issued by the Constituency Office of the NPP and signed by its Public Relations Committee Chairman, Nana Fredua Ofori-Atta. The release urged the East Akyem District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Victor Asihene, to stop any acts designed to promote factionalism or division in the NPP, "or that could impact negatively on the unity and progress of the Party in the constituency".

Explaining the circumstances leading to the resolution in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Nana Fredua Ofori-Atta said the four executive members were found to have re-opened an old constituency office of the Party and were running it at parallel to the existing one. He said investigations by the NPP revealed that Mr Asihene was paying the rent for the old office.

Reacting to the allegations, Mr Asihene said he paid for two years' rent advance for the old Party office in March 2006 with two cheques when the Party was still using it.

He said the Party relocated from that office in November 2006 and that since then he had not been involved in its rent payment.

Mr Asihene said as DCE, he had always been supporting the Party in times of need and that he would never do anything that would injure its image and performance.

Nana Agyemang, one of the dismissed executive members told the GNA that he was never given any opportunity to defend himself on the allegations as required by the NPP constitution adding that he had not received any formal notification of his removal from office. However, Madam Obeng, also mentioned among the four, told the GNA on telephone that she received a letter from the Party in the constituency informing her of a resolution of her removal from office. She said the letter also informed her of an impending delegates' conference and that she could attend but should not conduct herself as an executive member.

Madam Obeng said based on the tone of the letter, she decided not to attend the delegates conference, but later some polling station chairpersons who attended came to informed her that they heard that the Member of Parliament for the Constituency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, said he could no longer work with her so she should be removed from office.