|
Bright Wireko-Brobbey to go it
alone
Cape Coast, Aug. 3, GNA – Mr. Bright
Wireko-Brobbey a founding member and a member of Hemang-Lower
Denkyira Constituency branch of New Patriotic Party (NPP) on
Sunday declared his intention to contest the Parliamentary
seat as an independent candidate in the December 2008
general elections.
Speaking at a press conference at Cape Coast, he said the
decision has finally been arrived at, after very deep and
sober reflections over an unfair and unjustifiable treatment
meted out to him, in particular and all Hemang Lower
Denkyira NPP supporters in general by the NPP Hemang Lower
Denkyira Constituency Executives with the connivance and
support of, especially the Central Regional NPP chairman
over his eligibility to contest the primaries in the
Constituency.
Mr. Wireko-Brobbey said as true NPP faithful, “I filed my
papers to contest the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP),
Mr. Ben Donkor, not because of my selfish ambition of
becoming a Member of Parliament but simply because of loss
of faith and confidence in the incumbent by supporters and
other political stakeholders, including Traditional
Authorities, Assembly Members, men, women, students and
other youth groups across the Constituency.”
Mr. Wireko-Brobbey, who is a Development Consultant and
currently with Care International said, realizing that a
disgraceful defeat awaited them should there be primaries,
“the constituency executives who had formed an enclave and
very reluctant to allow any eligible person to contest Mr
Donkor, had denied knowledge of me, by endorsing on my
nomination forms that they had not known me in the party for
two years; somebody who has been a member of the party since
1992, having introduced the late Professor Adun Boahen in
the run-up to December presidential elections in 1992 and
also contested the position of District Chief Executive
together with four others in 2005.”
He said, “seeing that the constituency executives had been
unfair to me, Mr Lord Commey, who happened to chair the
vetting committee, referred both the executives and myself
to a mediation committee to arrive at a just and an amicable
solution and this committee was chaired by one prominent and
respected party father known as Nana Awuku.
He said, “the mediation committee on all two occasions that
I met with them recommended that the primaries in Hemang
Lower Denkyira be organized after which the losing
contestants will support the winner to move the campaign to
a greater height. This advice from the mediation committee
was blatantly defied with the utmost disregard and
disrespect for the people of my constituency when my
supporters and I learned two days before that an acclamation
was planned for Friday, the 10th of May 2008. Party faithful
immediately sought an injunction to restrain the unjustified
and purported acclamation, resulting in a close to four
months deadlock on the issue of the primaries in the
constituency.”
Mr Wireko-Brobbey said, “during this period, leading members
including chiefs and other opinion leaders tried to ensure
that both parties came to a compromise but all these
attempts, including polling station chairpersons making
trips to NPP Headquarters in Accra and Assin Fosu to meet
with Mr Kennedy Agyapong who doubles as the Campaign
Committee Chairman for the Central Region, failed to give
justice, equity and fair play in the democratic dispensation
of my political right to be elected on the NPP ticket and
subsequently
becoming Member of Parliament to serve my
people and mother Ghana.”
He said, “the worst of the cases was recorded on Sunday, the
13th of July 2008 when a maiden rally was organized by the
NPP to introduce parliamentary aspirants in all
constituencies where either acclamations or primaries had
been organized.
As of that date,
constituencies such as Tema East, Offinso, Oforikrom, among
others, which had either not conducted primaries/
acclamation or failed to have elected aspirants were
respectfully dignified by not declaring any candidate. It
was only the people of Hemang Lower Denkyira who were once
again ridden over, grossly disrespected, and denied dignity
when Mr Donkor was mentioned and declared to the good people
of Ghana as the candidate for the constituency.
This in fact, was a dirty slap
in the face of NPP constitution in Article 11 (1), 11 (6)
and 12 (7) which do not permit a declaration when primaries
or acclamations have not been held at the constituency
level.”
Mr Wireko-Brobbey said, this once again demonstrated the
imposition of a candidate on the people of the constituency
and also an entrenched position taken right from the opening
of nominations.
He urged all eligible voters, to take advantage of the
on-going registration exercise to get registered and vote
massively for him to register his vindication that, “indeed,
I am the people’s choice and that true and sustainable
development comes from the people and not from regional and
national executives.”
GNA
|
