Ashanti NDC youth demand review of former TEIN-KNUST leader’s disqualification

Growing disquiet has emerged among some youth members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) following the disqualification of former Tertiary Education Institutions Network (TEIN) executive Ayembilla Inusah Hamza from contesting for Deputy Ashanti Regional Youth Organiser.

The disqualification has triggered questions about whether leadership experience within TEIN, the party’s student wing, should count towards eligibility for positions in the NDC’s mainstream structures.

Hamza, a former vice president of TEIN at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), was reportedly disqualified on the grounds that he had not held a position at the party’s branch level.

The decision has prompted appeals from some young party members, who argue that TEIN provides a recognised platform for grooming future NDC leaders and mobilising students for the party.

They have urged the party’s leadership to review the decision and clarify how experience gained through TEIN relates to constitutional requirements for regional and national executive positions.

In separate statements and social media posts, supporters questioned whether the same eligibility criteria would be applied consistently to aspirants seeking national executive positions.

One appeal called on National Youth Organiser and Youth Development Minister George Opare Addo to intervene and ensure that Hamza’s case receives a thorough and impartial review.

The appeal also urged President John Dramani Mahama and NDC National Chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah to give the concerns a hearing, arguing that the party should encourage young people who have contributed through its student structures to seek higher responsibilities.

“This appeal is not a call for special treatment or a disregard for party rules. It is a call for fairness, consistency, and an interpretation of our rules that takes cognisance of the party’s recognised structures,” the appeal said.

Another statement from an outgoing TEIN president at the NMTC–Keta Chapter also called for Hamza’s eligibility to be reconsidered in line with the party’s constitution and applicable electoral regulations.

The statement cited former TEIN–KNUST president Sammy Gyamfi, who later became the NDC’s National Communications Officer, as an example of the contribution student politics can make to the development of party leaders.

Other supporters have questioned whether the NDC risks discouraging young people if service through TEIN is not given due consideration when they seek positions in the party’s regional and national structures.

One supporter recalled that Hamza had devoted time to campaigning for the NDC during the 2024 general elections, including sacrificing his National Service commitments, although the claim could not be independently verified.

The debate has also drawn comparisons with the case of Queen Hiba, a hopeful for regional communications officer in the Savannah Region who was reportedly nearly disqualified on similar grounds but was eventually allowed to contest.

Supporters have asked the party to explain whether the circumstances surrounding the two cases differed.

However, the concerns remain appeals for clarification and reconsideration, rather than evidence that the vetting committee breached the party’s constitution.

The chairman of the vetting committee, Yaw Boateng Gyan, a former NDC national organiser, has said aspirants affected by disqualification could petition for a review in the ongoing Ashanti Regional executive election process.

The specific constitutional provisions relied upon in Hamza’s case, and the committee’s detailed reasoning, have not been independently established in the information available.

The dispute comes as the NDC prepares to elect new Ashanti Regional executives on 16 November, part of the party’s internal reorganisation ahead of the 2028 general elections.

AK/EB