DAILY GUIDE learnt yesterday that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had asked Anthony Gyimah, the party’s parliamentary candidate for the Abuakwa North Constituency in the Eastern Region, to withdraw from this year’s parliamentary race.
The decision of the party had compelled Dr. Gyimah to submit his withdrawal letter to the regional executives in Koforidua, the regional capital, in order to pave way for Ghana’s High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland, Victor Emmanuel Smith, who the party deems more marketable to contest for the Abuakwa North seat.
Mark Oliver-Kevor, Regional Secretary of the NDC, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that Anthony Gyimah on Monday submitted his letter to the party for personal reasons.
According to Mr Mark Oliver-Kevor, the party would on Wednesday sell its nomination forms at GH¢1000.00 for any party member who has interest in the seat to pick and file them before the end of July.
According to a party source, since the late JB Danquah-Adu is no more there, Mr. Victor Smith stands a better chance of winning the seat with little or no difficulty, hence the NDC’s decision to rally behind him.
DAILY GUIDE some months ago reported that Mr. Victor Smith was working behind the scenes to induce Gyimah with GH¢1 million to vacate the seat for him to contest in the November polls.
Victor’s Denial
But Emmanuel Victor Smith, via a telephone interview with this paper, debunked the report.
“It’s never true that I want to offer Anthony Gyimah such money. That’s interesting. If I had such money I would have used it for investment or to establish a company for the youth. I’m not interested in that seat anymore. I would have come and contested the primary,” he underscored.
According to him, “I have been going to the constituency to meet my people and campaign for President John Mahama to win the next election; but I have not decided nor have any interest to contest for the seat; it’s not my priority. My vision is to help the youth there and inspect the projects that I left and nothing else.”
Friends Of Victor
A group that supported Victor Smith in the 2012 elections – Friends of Victor Smith – in the Abuakwa North Constituency, led by Kwame Owusu Danso, came out to state that Ambassador Smith did not have much interest in contesting for the seat, having publicly bowed out after losing the 2012 election to the late JB Danquah-Adu.
Mr. Danso added that Ambassador Victor Smith would have gone unopposed if he had wanted to contest the NDC primary, adding that supporters of the NDC were clamoring and appealing to the national executives of the party to intervene and replace Gyimah with Ambassador Smith because the candidate had failed to prove his capability in helping the party win the seat in 2016.
Nomination
Mr. Victor Smith’s aides and one David Kwadwo Frimpong Siaw, a former contender, will on Wednesday pick nomination forms, according to information.
Mr Siaw, who contested the party’s primary and lost to Anthony Gyimah, has the support of the grassroots members and willing to challenge Ambassador Victor Smith.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Akyem-Kukurantumi