The 2024 Flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has admonished the residents of Ejisu Constituency in the Ashanti Region to vote for the party parliamentary candidate, Lawyer Kwabena Boateng instead of wasting their votes on the former MP, Kofi Owusu Aduomi who is contesting as an Independent candidate.
According to the Vice President, if the constituents vote for Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, he will join the NDC in Parliament to increase their numbers.
Dr Bawumia explained that the NDC is backing the former MP who is contesting as an Independent Candidate and that is the reason why the NDC didn’t present any candidate to contest.
The former NPP Member of Parliament for Ejisu, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, is contesting the By-Election with five others as an Independent parliamentary candidate.
The other candidates are; Esther Osei representing the Convention People’s Party (CPP) picking the number one spot followed by the NPP’s Lawyer Kwabena Boateng, Beatrice Boakye of the Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), Gabriel Agyemang Joseph and Attakorah Joseph with both going Independent and picking 5 and 6 respectively.
The former Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways who is affiliated with Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change intends to re-run for the seat he lost to the deceased MP, John Kumah during the NPP’s parliamentary primaries in 2020.
He first secured his parliamentary seat in Ejisu during the 2008 general elections. and retained the seat in both the 2012 and 2016 elections but was unsuccessful in his party’s primary in 2020.
He parted ways with the NPP citing mistreatment during the ruling NPP’s 2023 presidential primaries.
Since he declared to contest as an Independent candidate, the opposition NDC is secretly campaigning for him to win the upcoming by-election in the constituency.
However, the Vice President, Dr Bawumia addressing a mini Durbar at Fumasa ahead of the Tuesday by-election explained to the residents that “When you go to Parliament now, the NPP has 138 members including the Fomena Independent Candidate, while the NDC also has 137 members, so the NDC want to increase their number in Parliament that’s why they didn’t present a candidate instead decided to support the former NPP MP to contest as an Independent candidate”.
He added, “If you mistakenly vote for the Independent candidate. He will join the NDC in Parliament and they will be more than us to sabotage the Government business”.
He used the opportunity to appeal to the residents to rally behind the Akufo-Addo-led government since the NPP has been the only party that has been developing the Constituency.
“Am appealing to you (Constituents and NPP Members) to vote for our candidate, Lawyer Kwabena Boateng, because he is the one we know and can come to us to seek projects to continue what Late John Ampontuah Kumah started”.
He further explained that the NPP has since Ex-President JA Kufuor era has been the only party and government to develop the Constituency hence the need to vote for the party Candidate for continuity in honor of the late John Kumah.
The durbar was graced by President Akufo-Addo, the National Chairman of NPP, Stephen Ayesu Ntim among other party members and sympathisers.
BY Daniel Bampoe