The much-awaited primary to elect the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon was yesterday marred by confusion when it was announced that the voting could not come on because one of the candidates, Mr Isaac George Amoo, had been hospitalised.
That infuriated most of the candidates and supporters of the other candidate,Mrs Frema Osei Opare, who insisted that they were tired of the protracted delay in conducting the primary and would want to finish with it once and for all.
However, the National Organiser and the Greater Accra Youth Organiser of the party, Mr Lord Commey and Alhaji Yisuf Ahmed, respectively, persisted that it would not be morally right to vote while the other candidate had been hospitalised.When Mr Commey and Alhaji Ahmed made the move to leave premises of the Dzorwulu Junior Secondary School the venue for the congress the delegates insisted on voting, the two were violently prevented from going out and for the second time, armed policemen, had to escort them out, amidst pelting of stones and insults.
It all began when the regional youth organiser said that the regional executives were informed last Friday that Mr Amoo had been hospitalised at the Ridge Hospital in Accra and enquiries confirmed that to be true.Mr Commey also said at one of the pre-conferences to iron out issues before the primary, Mr Amoo objected to the eligibility of 18 of the delegates and it was agreed by consensus that they must be replaced.
He disclosed that at most of the meetings held before the primary, Mr Amoo did not attend, including the one that received the report on a committee that went into the eligibility of the 18 delegates.He said after other internal wrangling and postponement, the primary was scheduled for the weekend.
Mr Commey said that ?some of us are becoming sick of the Ayawaso West primary and the attendant bad press and want to get it out of our chest?,adding that at one of the meetings chaired by the National Chairman, Mr Harona Esseku, the meeting was informed by Mr Esseku that he had received a telephone call from one of the confidants of Mr Amoo that he had been hospitalised.
?Just yesterday, the first regional chairman told me that Mr Amoo had been hospitalised at the Ridge Hospital.? Mr Commey asked the women?s organiser of the constituency, who also said her enquiries at the hospital had confirmed Mr Amoo?s hospitalisation.In order not to stay at the ground to legitimise the primary results, he tried to move out and was prevented by the crowd but he managed to leave with the help of the police.
The party members vented their anger on Mr Commey for moving out and started throwing all kinds of missiles at him so he had to be whisked away in a police patrol car.
One of the delegates, Mr Kwame Asaho Adjei, moved a motion that a resolution should be passed which was seconded and passed, signed by 47 out of the 55 delegates present.
They resolved that due to the persistent failure of the regional executives to hold the primary and the failure of Mr Amoo to attend the primary and other meetings, they had all given their support and vote to Mrs Osei-Opare. They also declared her to be their parliamentary candidate.
On her part, Mrs Osei-Opare thanked the delegates for their love, support and the confidence reposed in her and pledged to work hard to iron out the differences and retain the seat in the December elections.
