Kofi Appianin Ennin
The Obuasi West Constituency in the Ashanti Region will see a fierce battle as the countdown to the polls on December 7 gets underway, with the emergence of an independent candidate.
An Obuasi-based businessman and member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kofi Appianin Ennin, has announced his bid as an independent parliamentary candidate for the 2024 elections.
It follows calls on him by some constituents, especially party members, to run to unseat the incumbent MP, Kwaku Kwarteng, whom they accused of letting them down.
Speaking to the media after a health walk held on March 30, 2024, Mr. Appianin Ennin said, “The NPP and NDC are taking the nation into a ditch,” adding that he had come to rescue the people.
According to him, the process to elect delegates and parliamentary candidates has made the MPs lazy, including the Obuasi West lawmaker.
“They do no job and just raise money for elections and pay delegates, to the detriment of the entire constituency,” he indicated.
The MP aspirant stated that the system has been designed in such a way that it is difficult for anyone to enter and contest the primary.
“You will need almost GH¢200,000 to win the primary, and I wonder how you will serve the constituency if you take out a loan.
“This is what I’ve been thinking about because if we don’t get this system in order, everything will be planned for individual interests rather than the nation,” Mr. Ennin asserted.
For him, when a person buys his or her way into primaries and becomes an MP, he cares less about the country, and all he does is raise funds and pay delegates to be re-elected.
“Throughout last year, no meeting was organised by the MP to address Obuasi development. The NPP party office has been closed down,” he later explained.
He added, “We are being taken for a ride. The party’s 8,000 delegates are deemed more important than the 46,000 people who make up Obuasi West.”
“People are crying too much, and I’ve come to comfort them. I’m running as an independent candidate since winning the NPP parliamentary contest will be difficult,” he explained.
Thousands of people participated in last Saturday’s walk through Obuasi’s main streets, which ended at Konka market with a mini rally.
Stephen Osei and Solomon Acheampong, assembly members for Konka Junction and Anyinam electoral areas, respectively, were spotted at the Konka market to support the aspiring independent candidate.
Samuel Akomea, alias Chairman, who has served in various capacities as a youth organiser, polling station executive, and Konka Junction NPP chairman was also there.
The attendees held several placards with various inscriptions such as ‘Kofi Appianin can resurrect Ashgold Football Club’, ‘Save AngloGold’, ‘AGA dies, Obuasi dies’, ‘Kofi Appianin is a man of his words’, and ‘Kofi Appianin must lead Obuasi West’.
Some individuals got on their knees and begged Mr. Ennin to run as an independent candidate, asserting that a foundation he co-founded, Appianin-Bonsec, has been instrumental in addressing the pressing needs of Obuasi.
According to the locals, the foundation has provided scholarships to brilliant but needy students in Obuasi, as well as financial assistance to the majority of the youth in travelling overseas.
One of the beneficiaries, Gifty Opoku, stated that Mr. Ennin has provided support to the people of Obuasi, and expressed hope that if he runs in the future elections, he will be successful.
“We believe he is the ideal candidate to improve Obuasi, so we urge him to take power in order to save the town from its numerous issues.
“Our roads are bad, and we can’t even use them when it rains,” she noted.
Ernest Owusu Ansah, a 50-year-old Konka driver, also threw his support to Appianin Ennin to run as an independent candidate and premised it on the man’s benevolence.
By Ernest Kofi Adu