Month: May 2011

A Minister of State at the Presidency and Member of Parliament for Amenfi West, John Gyetuah has said President Attah Mills and his campaign team remain unfazed by the new opinion poll which put opposition leader Nana Akufo Addo ahead of President Mills if elections were held today.

The poll by research outfit Synovate Ghana, formerly Steadman, puts opposition New Patriotic Party flagbearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of President John Mills by five percent if elections were held today Tuesday May 31, 2011.

The poll for the month of May reveals the opposition NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo will maintain his 43 percent lead ahead of President Mills who lost three percentage points since April’s opinion poll by the same research body.

This time round, President Mills will garner 38 percent of nation-wide votes if elections were held today, the Synovate poll showed.

The latest poll also reveals Nana Akufo-Addo will win all the swing regions except President Mills’ home of the Central.

However contributing to a panel discussion on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem show, the Member of Parliament for Amenfi West John Gyetuah, discredited the findings since according to him that does not correctly reflect the situation on the ground.

He said the good work President Attah Mills has continued to execute since assuming power put him in pole position to win the 2012 general elections.

“The better Ghana Agenda is very clear for all to see the good works of President Mills and the NDC and Ghanaians are going to honour us by retaining the NDC in power’’ he said.

Hon. Gyetuah added that though he does not agree with the findings of this particular poll the Mills campaign team will nonetheless examine the findings and “tighten the loose ends”.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Hundreds of supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), in the Lower Manya Krobo constituency, have demonstrated in protest of allegations made by their MP concerning the failing eyesight of president Mills.

Hon. Michael Teye Nyaunu, who is the Campaign Coordinator of the Konadu 2012 campaign in a meeting with some NDC delegates, urged delegates of the ruling party to vote against President Mills because he was virtually blind and could not read any of the letters officially addressed to him,.

He alleged that the situation had resulted in persons at the Castle feeding the President with false information, while other big shots in the Castle have usurped the President’s power.

Hon. Teye – Nyaunu’s comment sparked condemnation from a section of the public who felt that the MP was increasingly becoming a nuisance with his uncouth comments about the President.

His constituents, who were incensed by their MP’s comments publicly, exhibited their anger by taking to the streets on Monday morning.

The protestors presented their petition to the Queen Mother of Odumase Krobo and the Lower Manya Krobo District Assembly.

They claim they voted for Hon. Teye-Nyaunu to represent them in parliament and bring honour to the area but he has consistently succeeded in bringing shame to the area by his unguarded statements.

The demonstrators called for his immediate stepping down, urging him to jettison any ambition of seeking re-election as MP for the area.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa Constituency, Kwabena Amankwa Asiamah, has accused the National Security Apparatus of being unnecessarily high-handed in its dealings with civilians in recent times.

This follows the seizure of Video CDs of two yet-to-be-released movies “Atta Mortuary Man” and “Oh Uncle Atta,” by persons said to be personnel of the National Security Apparatus.

The security officers besieged the premises of a distributor in Accra on Saturday and seized 13,000 copies of the CDs which they took to the offices of the BNI.

The two movies have been given a clean bill of health by the Ghana Cinematography Control Board which has the statutory mandate to evaluate contents of movies before they are aired to the public.

There have been speculations by sections of the public that the CDs were seized because its content made mockery of President Attah Mills and may be an affront to the President if released onto the market.

Meanwhile the Deputy Information Minister Baba Jamal has said in an interview with Peace FM Monday that the 13,000 copies of the movie were seized because the producer did not complete censorship procedures.

He further explained that though the movie itself had been censored and approved by the Cinematography board, its posters and adverts had not yet been scrutinized since the producer did not make them available at the time the movie was under scrutiny.

However contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show on Monday, the Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Kwabena Amankwah Asiamah, described the action by the National Security as very harsh which could paint the ruling government in a negative picture.

He noted that the issue could have been handled behind the scenes in a quieter manner to avoid the media blowing the issue up.

“The National Security could have called the producer to a meeting to discuss the matter without deploying armed men to the area, Ghanaians are tired of seeing and hearing news of security men harassing innocent civilians who are doing legitimate jobs’’ he said.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament for Adentan Constituency, Kojo Adu Asare has called for the immediate removal of his party member and colleague MP, Hon. Michael Teye-Nyaunu as the Leader of Ghanaians delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.

According to him, it is totally wrong to continue to have someone who severally speaks negatively of the President to lead Ghana’s delegation to an international gathering such as the ECOWAS Parliament.

His call for the removal of the MP, was informed by the recent comments of Hon. Teye Nyaunu, who at a meeting with some party delegates in Accra stated that President John Evans Attah was virtually blind and as such could not read any document brought to him for scrutiny at the Castle.

This is the second time the outspoken MP has made such remarks about President Mills. Before the 2008 elections Mr Nyaunu made similar allegations against Prof Mills, claiming that the President was too ill to be President and so needed to be dropped as the party’s flag bearer.

His comments drew sharp criticisms from section of the public who believed such unguarded statements were unbecoming of the Member of Parliament for Lower Manya Krobo.

Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo Morning show, the Member of Parliament for Adentan Constituency, Kojo Adu -Asare took strong exception to the indiscreet comments from his colleague MP who he thought should know better and must be circumspect in his comments.

He said Teye Nyaunu, has fallen flat of what decency is all about when it comes to according the President the respect that he deserves.

“Head leads a Ghanaian delegation to an august body such as the ECOWAS Parliament’ I wonder what his comments about President Mills will be if issues about him (President) come up for discussion at the ECOWAS Parliament’’ he said.

Hon. Adu- Asare further stated that he would take his call for the removal of his colleague a step further by lobbying his other colleague MPs to call the “wayward” MP to order.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is to organise a re-run of Parliamentary primaries in two constituencies.

This party’s National Appeals Board took the decision after receiving petitions from the April 30 nationwide primaries.

The constituencies are Atwima Kwawuma in the Ashanti Region, and North Tongu in the Volta Region.

In the case of Atwima Kwanwoma, there was a tie in the results of the sitting MP and another candidate who both had 205 votes.

In the North Tongu constituency, some electoral coordinators and some delegates who had the mandate to vote were prevented from voting therefore prompting the committee to recommend that the election be re-run in that constituency.

The party has scheduled June 4 for the re-run, pending a confirmation from the regions and the Electoral Commission.

Story by : Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

NDC warned against washing dirty linen in public Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawasi, has appealed to supporters and leaders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to refrain from provocative and defamatory statements.

He condemned the way some NDC supporters and activists took advantage of the impending national congress of the party, and openly insulted and lied about their colleagues to tarnish their hard won reputation.

The MP was speaking at the inauguration of the NDC Asawasi Constituency sub-committees in-charge of Organization, Finance, Discipline, Council of Elders, Social and Welfare, Elections, Research and Monitoring, Media and Communications, and Youth and Women, at the Asawasi Community Centre in Kumasi.

Alhaji Mubarak cautioned that “the NDC should not wash its dirty linen in public” since that was not in the best interest of the party.

He said that what the party activists and supporters would say about their colleagues and leaders could be used against the NDC by the main opposition party in its campaign ahead of Election 2012.

Alhaji Mubarak called on all well-meaning NDC supporters and activists to work harder to achieve peace for the party since “a divided house can not stand.”

He said the party’s leadership would work hard to ensure that the NDC retains the Asawasi seat.

Mr Joseph Boarle Salifu, the Constituency Organizer, commended the MP for initiating development projects in the area, to promote the well being of the people.

He asked the sub-committees, tasked to augment activities of the NDC at all levels for the growth and development of the party, to collaborate with the constituency executives towards the success of the party.

Source: GNA