In the midst of political tension in the Suhum Constituency of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), rumours swirled that the incumbent Member of Parliament, Oboafo Kwadjo Asante, who had lost his bid for a second term, was planning to run as an independent candidate.
Posters adorned with his image and name seemed to confirm the speculation.
However, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, known for his calm and collected demeanour, stepped forward to quell the rumours.
Bryan Acheampong made this statement last Friday while speaking at a stakeholders’ engagement in the Suhum Constituency during a Campaign tour to the Region, by the Presidential Candidate of NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
Bryan Acheampong, Member of Parliament for Abetifi, had previously contested the Suhum Parliamentary Primary of NPP but lost to the former MP, Frederick Opare-Ansah, on five occasions with the infamous 51-51 votes.
Addressing the stakeholders, he emphatically stated that he had brought the incumbent MP, Oboafo Kwadjo Asante, to unseat the former MP, Frederick Opare Ansah, adding that now that he had lost, the party structure led by the Presidential Candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, had met with him (Oboafo Kwadjo Asante), who had promised that he was not contesting as an independent candidate.
During Dr Bawumia’s visitation on Friday to Suhum, the incumbent MP, Oboafo Kwadjo Asante, did not show up at any of the engagements, fueling questions about his intentions.
Despite losing the NPP parliamentary primary to Frank Asiedu Bekoe, also known as Protozoa, he continued to work on development projects in the constituency, fueling speculation about his plans.
Sources close to him suggested that he was considering running as an independent candidate, with some constituents urging him to do so.
However, Dr Acheampong’s statement aimed to maintain party cohesion and quell the rumours.
Last month, hundreds of Suhum residents embarked on a peaceful walk, calling on him to contest as an independent candidate for the area, as a petition was sent to his office.
The situation remained uncertain, with Oboafo Kwadjo Asante neither confirming nor denying his intentions, as some flyers suggested that he would soon come out and reveal his intentions, either to contest or not.
Meanwhile, the political tension between Asante and Bekoe, the party’s parliamentary candidate, continued to simmer, with some constituency executives defecting to Asante’s side.
On Friday, at the Suhum Lorry Station, thousands of residents in Suhum, including students, besieged the Lorry Station to welcome Dr. Bawumia and hear him address them.
Dr Bawumia used the occasion to introduce the party’s parliamentary candidate, Frank Asiedu Bekoe to the residents and urged them to vote for him to become the next MP for Suhum.
By Daniel Bampoe