Resigned Abuakwa North Parliamentary Candidate was not marketable – Amponsah

The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said it would have had a hell of a time marketing its former Parliamentary Candidate for Abuakwa North, Anthony Osei Gyimah ahead of the election later this year.

Mr Gyimah, with barely four months to the elections tendered in his resignation to the party on Monday citing personal reasons for his decision.

Anthony Osei Gyimah’s move has come as a shock to many NDC supporters in the Abuakwa North constituency as they saw him as viable candidate to wrestle power from the largest opposition NPP which has occupied the Parliamentary seat for more than a decade.

His sudden change of mind according to some political watchers has given credence to the rumour that made the rounds two months ago that he had received a whopping GHc1 million from Ghana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, H.E Victor Smith who’s said to be interested in the position.

The rumour at the time said Mr Smith was mounting pressure on Tony Gyimah to accept the amount in order to step down for him. But a group that supported Victor Smith in the 2012 election known as “Friends of Victor Smith” in the Abuakwa north constituency led by Kwame Owusu Danso denied the publication.

Speaking to Kasapa News, the NDC Abuakwa North Constituency Organizer, Kwabena Amponsah, stated that the resignation of Mr Gyimah is welcome news for the party as his departure will save the NDC from spending resources to campaign for a candidate who would have delivered a poor showing during the election.

“Mr. Gyimah was not popular so we needed to market him to make him more appealing to the constituents. That was the problem I had with him; not that I hated him. He came from abroad and picked forms, because of the way he ran his campaign he got people to vote for him to become the Parliamentary candidate. There was that zeal to work for him to become the MP for the area, but soon after he won, even when you’re looking for him, you can’t find him. But in politics one must always get closer to the grassroots in the party.”

The party has opened nominations until Friday for any interested qualified party member to file and contest the position left vacant by Mr Gyimah.