Akrofuom NDC, assembly members petition President

Akrofuom (Ash), May 18, GNA - The executives of the Adansi-Akrofuom constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and assembly members in the area, have petitioned President John Evans Atta Mills to consider re-nominating Mr. Opoku Ampofo Manu as the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Adansi South in Ashanti. At two meetings of the assembly held at New Edubiase, the nomination of Mr. Manu was rejected as he failed to secure two-thirds majority votes of the 53-member assembly when he polled 32 and 30 votes respectively.

In separate petitions dated May 12, 2009 and signed by Nana Oppong Kyekyeku, the NDC Constituency Chairman and Mr Bernard Appiah, on behalf of the assembly members, both groups maintained that since the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and the Presiding Member (PM) were both from the New Edubiase constituency, it would be in good faith and judgement that the DCE was nominated from the Akrofuom constituency. Whilst the NDC executives said any attempt by the President to nominate a person from the New Edubiase constituency would have defeated the party's aim of appointing losing parliamentary candidates in 2008 elections, the assembly members numbering 29 have also resolved not to vote to confirm "any other person brought to the assembly for confirmation apart from Mr Opoku Ampofo Manu". The two groups expressed regret about the role played by the New Edubiase activists, which helped in the rejection of the President's nominee.

The NDC executives blamed their New Edubiase counterparts for organising open demonstration against Mr Manu while the assembly members also revealed that after the elections it became known that the assembly members who did not vote to confirm Mr Manu were all NDC activists from the New Edubiase constituency. The assembly members said the action of those members would retard the progress and development of the district, in addition, other comments and actions from them were recipe, hatred and acrimony between assembly members in the two constituencies. The two groups hoped that with the fullest expectation "their petitions would be considered by President Mills". 18 May 09