Nana Akomea to run for Parliament in 2012?

Despite announcing his intention not to seek another term in Parliament, information reaching the New Statesman indicates that the Member of Parliament for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea, may consider abandoning that intention and run for parliament as the NPP’s candidate in the 2012 general elections.

This has been necessitated by numerous calls from constituents in Okaikoi South who view the main protagonists Ahmed Arthur and Vicky Bright as been injurious to the party’s chances of retaining the seat which has been in the grips of the NPP since 1996. As such constituents are looking for a compromise candidate and the searchlight has returned to the incumbent MP who has been asked to run again to bring the constituency together citing his impeccable record as MP in the constituency since 1996.

The perceived divisions in the constituency has resulted from the annulling of last April’s parliamentary primary in which Ahmed Arthur beat Vicky Bright, who was widely tipped to win the seat.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) party cancelled the April Parliamentary Primary held in the Okaikoi South constituency due to the flawed nature of the vetting process and has scheduled a re-run of the polls after upholding an appeal filed by Vicky Bright who challenged the results.

However, Nana Akomea at the time stated that the contest was won fairly by Ahmed Arthur, noting that annulling the result would be unfair.

He said, “I do not think it is a fair decision because if it is about the credibility of the election, then of course the result would be affected, but it is not about the credibility of the election, it is about a mistake Mr Ahmed Arthur made in his application form. If elections themselves there is no problem, why withdraw the result, I don't understand it.”

He added that the committee's decision has become unpopular among party big wigs including MPs and national executives who thought “it is a very unfair decision”.

This “unpopular decision” has therefore resulted in calls for Nana Akomea to rescind his decision and run for parliament one more time as he will surely win the Okaikoi South seat for the NPP as opposed to the uncertainty that will be thrust on the constituency should Ahmed Arthur or Vicky Bright lead the party at this point in time into the 2012 parliamentary elections.

Constituents cite the level of development brought into the constituency ever since he was elected as MP. According to them, Nana Akomea has age on his side, has had the support and backing of constituency executives and constituents since 1996 alike and has always won the Parliamentary elections with margins of not less than 10,000 votes.

In 1996, Nana Akomea beat the NDC’s Agbemor Yeboah Ernest by 35,284 votes to 22,928 votes. In 2008, Mercy Afrowa Needjan suffered at similar fate at the hands of Nana Akomea when she polled 16,640 to Nana Akomea’s 34,179 votes. Capt. Christoph Kwami Brooks, also from the NDC, was no different in 2004 as he obtained 17,399 votes as opposed to 41,383 votes by Nana Akomea. In the 2008 elections Nana Akomea beat Isaac Mensah of the NDC by 35,438 votes to 25,819 votes.