Joseph Yammin
THE OPPOSITION National Democratic Congress (NDC) has flatly debunked rumours that tribal lineage influenced the pattern of voting of their delegates during the election of party executives in the Ashanti Region recently.
Andrew Nana Akwasi, a native of the Ashanti Region and a long-time financier of the NDC in the region, defeated Joseph Yammin, who hails from the Northern Region. Mr. Yammin happens to be one of the gurus of the party in the region.
Prior to the elections, which were held at Kumawu barely a week ago, rumours were rife that the camp of Andrew Nana Akwasi was campaigning on tribal lines in order to defeat Joseph Yammin.
The wild speculation is still spreading fast even after the results of the elections had been declared a week ago. Reports indicated that the delegates kept saying that they voted for Nana Akwasi because of his tribe.
But in what can be described as a desperate attempt to salvage a hopeless situation, the Chairman of the Ashanti Regional NDC Council of Elders, Frank Osei Mensah, has jumped in to deny the damning speculation.
“The NDC members and delegates in the Ashanti Region did not vote on tribal lines during our Ashanti regional executives elections as is being speculated around by some people”, he stated on a radio station in Kumasi.
Mr. Osei Mensah, who was the first Ashanti Regional NDC Chairman, said the delegates of the party voted for competent people, whom they believe have the ability and expertise to lead the NDC to win the 2020 election.
He, however, expressed gross worry about the seeming tension and troubles that have hit the party in the Ashanti Region since the time of the elections, calling for peace and unity among the rank and file of the party. Mr. Osei Mensah said the inability of Yammin to win the polls and become the next Ashanti Regional NDC Chairman “is not the end of the world “, therefore his (Yammin’s) supporters should remain calm.
Despite the defeat, he stated that Yammin would still play an integral role in the Ashanti Regional NDC as the party prepares to wrest political power from the NPP in 2020.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi