Andrews Amoako Asiamah
THE NEW Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena, Andrews Amoako Asiamah, is seeking to retain the seat as an independent candidate in this year’s general election.
Posters of the lawmaker going as an independent candidate have already hit various social media platforms.
His decision to go as an independent candidate has now paved the way for Philip Ofori Asante to go solo in the upcoming NPP parliamentary primary election in the constituency.
Information from the corridors of the NPP, especially in the Fomena Constituency, has indicated that Mr. Asiamah will be suspended if he indeed goes independent.
History
Mr. Asiamah, a private legal practitioner, contested the Fomena Constituency seat on the ticket of the NPP in 2016 and retained the seat for the party after beating the former MP, Daniel Kingsley Atta Boafo, at the primaries.
He is now seeking his second term in Parliament, and political pundits believe he would have easily fulfilled his ambition on the ticket of the NPP, which is now in government.
Surprisingly, the sitting MP has decided to opt out of the upcoming NPP MP race and probably believes his chance of retaining the seat lies in becoming as an independent candidate.
Attempts by DAILY GUIDE to reach Mr. Asiamah on phone to explain the reason behind his move proved futile.
However, the Fomena Constituency Chairman of the NPP, Akwasi Nti, has since expressed shock over the NPP MP’s decision to run as an independent candidate.
He told DAILY GUIDE that the MP successfully filed his nomination and was vetted and cleared to take part in the upcoming parliamentary primary election in the constituency and wondered what he is seeking to achieve.
According to Mr. Nti, the MP wrote to the NPP General Secretary, John Boadu, to indicate to him that he was opting out of the race.
Party Album
He speculated that Mr. Asiamah’s decision could stem from the problem he had with the party’s constituency album after clamouring for it to be changed.
“Amoako Asiamah has consistently called for the party’s old album to be changed for a new one and he has always lost the case on this issue, and I suspect that is the reason.
“The old album was used to elect the party executives in the constituency, which was supervised by NPP national and regional teams so it cannot be changed to favour him,” he said.
According to him, the NPP Council of Elders in the area has called on Mr. Asiamah for a meeting to dissuade him from running as independent candidate, but he failed to honour the invitations extended to him.
Akwasi Nti disclosed that the party executives had planned to meet on Monday to decide what action to take against Lawyer Amoako Asiamah.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi