An independent parliamentary candidate for Anlo in the Volta region, Mrs Esther Agbodo-Nyamalor, on Tuesday called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs Victor James Victor Gbeho to resign his cabinet portfolio or withdraw his candidature.
"It is morally wrong for a cabinet minister to contest a parliamentary seat as an independent candidate and still maintain that position," she said. Mrs Agbodo-Nyamalor, an NDC activist who lost the Tema West seat in 1996, said this at a press conference in Accra.
She is contesting the seat with Mr Gbeho and Squadron Leader Clend Sowu (rtd), the incumbent MP who was endorsed by the ruling NDC leadership. She said: "Anlos are calling for a parliamentarian who will be part of the community and not an absentee one."
As to why she still maintains membership of the NDC, Mrs Agbodo-Nyamalor said her mission "is a noble one; to rescue the parliamentary seat for my party, to serve the constituents for accelerated development."
She listed a catalogue of problems inhibiting the development of the constituency, saying the incumbent MP has done his part for the past eight years.
Mrs Agbodo-Nyamalor said one of her first actions would be to contact the Electoral Commission for a new demarcation of the area to have at least three area councils instead of two.
Other priority areas, she said, will be the construction of bridges, a vocational centre, provision of good quality and adequate health facilities and establishment of micro credit facilities for the informal sector.
Early childhood development schools would attract her attention, Mrs Agbodo-Nyamalor said. "Day nurseries would be established while the existing ones would be renovated."
She said farmers and women would be assisted to improve upon their activities, adding, "as a woman and mother it should not be above me to bring to fruition my vision for Anlo." She appealed to all Ghanaians to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election "for Ghana is the only place where we belong."
