Our chairman’s defection shows his disloyalty – Ekumfi NDC

The National Democratic Congress in the Ekumfi constituency has welcomed the decision by their chairman, Ekow Esirifie-Buckman to defect to the opposition New Patriotic Party.

According to the party, it anticipated the move following the defection of Mr. Esirifie-Buckman’s spokespersons to the opposition party last month.

Esirifie-Buckman joined the NPP on Monday citing unfavourable working relations adding that defection will give him “his peace of mind.”

“It is clear that the party hierarchy, both in the Constituency and the Region are not comfortable with me and my chairmanship, so I, from today, with a heavy heart wish to apologize to my family, both far and near, friends, and the teaming party members, who reposed their trust in me for my decision to defect to the New Patriotic Party if that will give me the needed peace of mind,” he added.

But speaking on Eyewitness News, Kwesi Dawood, the Central Regional Communication Director of the NDC said the defection confirms Mr. Esirifie-Buckman’s disloyalty to the NDC.

“We the NDC in the Central Region wholeheartedly welcome the defection of Mr. Ekow Esirifie-Buckman from the NDC to the NPP. We want to also state categorically to our members that it is good news for the Ekumfi NDC and the party in the area will continue to move from strength to strength. What the man did is an indication of his failure of the loyalty test we put to him when the party granted him amnesty to return to us after he contested as an independent parliamentary candidate in 2008 and campaigned against late President Atta Mills and contested for the NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo in the then Mfantsiman East constituency, now Ekumfi constituency.”

“His decision to defect to the NPP never came to us as a surprise… because of his mini moves against the fortunes of Abeiku Crenstil, the NDC MP and the defection of his spokesperson Mr. Adam Seidu to the NPP last month. They are birds of the same feathers so when Seidu Adams defected last month we know Mr. Buckman was also going to defect,” he added.

The communication director noted that the chairman was suspended from the party in April 2015 by his own executives after they described his actions as “anti-party behaviour and clandestine moves against their sitting MP.”

“It took the regional executives for him to be reinstated but since last year, he has consistently and openly shown hatred against the NDC’s incumbent MP [Abeiku Crentsil] and had vowed to continuously work against him.”

The communication director further rejected claims by Esirifie-Buckman over diversion of outboard motors in the constituency arguing that “the allegations are nothing to write home about.”