Effutu Assembly confirms Nii Ephraim as MCE

The 27-member Effutu Municipal Assembly on Friday confirmed President John Dramani Mahama’s nominee, Nii Ephraim as Municipal Chief Executive. He polled 18 out of 26 votes to get his nomination confirmed.

Nii Ephraim was prevented from voting as his term as MCE had elapsed and was working in acting capacity.

The Effutu Municipal Electoral Officer conducted the election supervised by Mr Samuel Sarpong, Central Regional Minister.

The Minister cautioned members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who had been kicking against Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) nominated by the President to stop.

He said the nominees were not appointed to serve party members alone, but the entire people of the assembly.

Mr Sarpong said it was only the President, who had the mandate under the Constitution to appoint MMDCEs and no party member had that mandate.

He said it was therefore wrong for any party member to usurp the authority of the President by rejecting his nominee and appealed to NDC members to desist from that indiscipline acts.

He pointed out that no good and true NDC member would kick against the President’s nominee for a position and termed people who behave in that way as “enemies of the NDC.”

The Central Regional Minister said the government had realized that it did not do all the good work and that enabled Ghanaians to renew its mandate in the 2012 election hence its decision to re-nominate people also to continue their work.

In an acceptance speech, Nii Ephraim said in 2009, he approached the Assembly for their mandate as “a green person,” but today he was seeking their mandate as “a ripen person” who had gone through the mills and that could enable him to perform better.

He expressed gratitude to the members of the Assembly for their support over the last four years and appealed for the same gesture and cooperation to enable them improve the living conditions of the people in the Municipality.

Nii Ephraim urged the Assembly members to put him on track when found deviating. He said there was the need to complete the Assembly’s hall complex and also to lay pavement blocks at the Winneba and Winneba Junction lorry parks.

He appealed to people in the Municipality to pay their dues and taxes promptly to enable the Assembly to generate more funds for projects.