Minister Tries To Crush Contender

After supervising the loss of 13 out of the 17 assembly seats in the small constituency of Effutu in the central region, the Minister of Public Sector reforms and incumbent Member of Parliament, Hon Owusu Adjei has observed with bated breath the rising status of 29 year old law student and entrepreneur, Alex Afenyo Markin, when he demonstrated plenty of resourcefulness and keen political adroitness to emerge as the Presiding member of the local assembly.

Since then, young Alex has been a target of the Minister and the constituency executive, whiles Alex has also not made things easier for them by constantly carping at the legislator’s heels, bringing tension ahead of the upcoming primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Effutu-Senya Constituency.

In an attempt to shoot down Mr. Markin, the constituency Chairman, Mr. Philip Kofi Taylor connived with eight of the ten- member executives, and handed down a one year suspension on Markin, without recourse to the recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee (DC) of the party.

Chronicle can confirm the sighting of billboards at Winneba, with bold and provocative inscriptions, but a perfectly lawful promotion of the person of Markin at vantage points all over Winneba, inviting visitors to ‘know your presiding member’. Residents of the area have observed that this latest developments might have the tendency to ruffle the feather of the Minister, who is anxious to go in for another term, but now sees Markin’s acts of bravado as too much to bear.

Some party leaders who are familiar with the tensed situation between the two warring factions, have condemned the action of the Chairman and also expressed shock about the turn of events in the constituency.

Some have said that the action of the chairman and his compatriots was a potential threat for the party, since it has the tendency of creating unnecessary tension in the constituency. Information gathered by the paper indicates that the executives who signed the Markin suspension letter were made to do so under duress.

A couple of them have intimated that the position taken by the chairman and some of his executives ran contrary to the terms and recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee, which was tasked to go into the complaints filed by the same chairman against Mr. Markin, several months ago.

The Committee, which was chaired by Mr. Sam Ghartey, recommended the party members to reconcile and iron out their differences. It also asked Markin to render an unqualified apology to the sitting MP, in the interest of the party. The Committee dismissed the allegation that Mr. Markin has been campaigning in the constituency contrary to the directives of the party, which barred him and his colleagues from so doing.

“It is obvious from the proceedings that even before the ban for parliamentary politicking in the constituency is lifted, stakeholders have started scheming and gearing up for battle. It is our considered opinion that this underlies the emerging skirmishes in the 8 complaints itemized in the letter.

“It is the opinion of the DC that, in order for peace and unity to prevail in the party, the Executive Council should as soon as possible and under the auspices of the Council of Elders, initiate a process of reconciliation in the party. This must be given priority attention, given the fact that general elections are just around the corner and the party needs a united front to prosecute that battle,” said the DC.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Council of Elders of the party, Mr. Albert Korsah has confirmed that the reconciliation process has started in the constituency. In a telephone interview, Mr. Korsah expressed worry about developments in the area. Though some members of the party have called for Markin’s suspension to be lifted, The Chronicle can report the issue of the T-shirt which was being used by the Chairman, Mr. Taylor to pursue Markin, had been dealt with by the DC’s report, which stated that “on the charge number three, the DC is of the view that the purchase of the T-Shirt itself is not a breach of party discipline, especially when the inscription on the T-shirt was not offensive.”

The suspension letter, dated February 25th this year, stated that “unfortunately Hon. Alex Markin has printed a number of T-Shirts bearing his photograph, the party’s name and colour which his supporters wear for keep-fit exercises on Saturdays.” He stressed that since Mr. Markin has violated the directive not to openly campaign at constituencies where there is a sitting MP, the man deserved to be punished. In a sharp rebuttal, the first Vice Chairman of the constituency, Mr. Enoch Annang,who was not part of the signatories rubbished the suspension. According to him, the whole scheme was to pave way for the sitting MP. “This is totally rubbish, it will cause more problems for the party and I forsee it,” he said.

Nana Ohene-Ntow was shocked, when this paper reached him on phone about the allegation that Taylor has met with him and that he was aware of the suspension. “I was in a cabinet meeting the whole day, I did not meet him,” he said. In spite of that, he has expressed his willingness to delve into the matter to ensure that peace and tranquility prevail in the constituency. The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr. Owusu-Adjei, denied knowledge of the letter but deep sources indicate that it was him who informed the General Secretary about the suspension letter. The Regional Chairman, Mr. Smith Danquah, also expressed dismay about the prevailing situation in the area. He denied having received the said suspension letter.

“We would be meeting on the matter and I cannot comment on it until I read the full account of the letter,” he said. On his part, Mr. Markin denied receiving any letter of suspension. “I was not suspended and no letter was written to me to that effect. The letter I saw was written to the regional chairman and copied to me.” He declined to speak further and stated that he has complied with the directives of the Disciplinary Committee. The Chronicle can report that the Council of Elders did sit on the matter and threw the petition away, preparing the way for a bloody bust up in the primaries three months away.