NPP aspirant for Kumawu by-election indicted by US court for absconding to Ghana with $837,955

A New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary hopeful for the upcoming by-election in the Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr Philip Bannor, has been reportedly indicted by a court in the United States of America (US).

Dr Bannor is one of eight NPP members who have filed their nomination for the party’s primaries for the bye-election.

According to a news report by The Chronicle newspaper, Dr Bannor’s chance of passing the NPP’s vetting, which was held on Sunday, April 16, 2023, is in jeopardy following his indictment by a US court.

The report indicated that the MP aspirant was indicted and accused of absconding to Ghana with $837,955 in liabilities by the US court on January 21, 2022.

The judge who presided over his case Jeffrey W. Hollingsworth, granted divorce to Dr. Bannor's wife, Dora Bannor, after a five-year divorce trial and indicted him for not dealing fairly with about 14 banks.

The court indicated that the banks to which he is indebted include Synovus Bank, Matheney Street and Associates, Sun Trust Bank, the Pinnacle Bank, Cure Star Health Associates, PayPal, Colutta / Synovus Bank, City Bank Credit Card, Chase Credit Card, AMEX Credit Card, Grant, Konvalinks and Harrison, Hayseth Financial Services, LLC, Silverdale Baptist Academy and Lynn Davenport.

In the court’s Memorandum Order and Final Decree, the judge said that Dr Bannor fled the US to Ghana with majority of the properties from his marriage and accused him of lacking credibility because he abandoned his wife and children and fled to Ghana.

He, according to the judge, failed to honour the $1,343 per month child support for his children since 2018, which was increased to $1,507.26 on March 16, 2018.

It was also stated that the NPP MP aspirant invested over $300,000 of this marital asset in the collapsed Menzgold.

The Chronicle also indicated that Dr Bannor had appealed the court's ruling in his divorce suit, which is still pending.

Upon his return to Ghana, he was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the Registrar of the Health Facilities Regulatory Agency (HeFRA).

Background:

Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin declared the Kumawu Constituency seat vacant following the demise of the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Philip Basoah.

Speaking on the floor of the House on March 31, 2023, the Speaker said “… we formally communicated to the chairperson of the Electoral Commission of this unfortunate demise of our colleague which has led to the occurrence of a vacancy in the House.”

The official communication was sent to the EC on March 31 by the clerk of parliament in accordance to Section 3 of the Republic of Ghana Amendment Act 1996 ACT 52.

The other candidates who will be challenging Dr Bannor in the NPP’s primaries scheduled for April 26, 2023, include Dr. Dacoster Aboagye, Mr Ernest Yaw Anim, Ama Serwaa, Kwame Appiah-Kubi, Yaw Baah (former Kumawu MP unseated by the late MP) and Osei Hweree Kwame Bempah.

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