News:
May 3, 2011
The former Member of Parliament for Tema West, Abraham Osei-Aidoo has declared his intentions to contest the 2012 parliamentary elections.
Though he was tight-lipped on which party’s ticket he would be staging the comeback bid, Mr Osei-Aidoo confirmed to Joy News that he would contest the Tema West seat.
“I have decided to contest the elections in 2012, yes that is true, but as to where I will go is another matter.”
Mr Osei-Aidoo lost the NPP’s parliamentary primary in that constituency two and a half years ago to the incumbent MP Irene Naa Torshie Addo.
If he goes ahead to contest, Mr Aidoo would be vying for the seat with Irene Naa Torshie Addo who was re-elected unopposed by the party on Saturday.
Per the NPP constitution, a member who contests other than on the party’s ticket loses his or her membership.
Mr Osei-Aidoo, who was the Majority Leader in the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic – 2004 to 2008 – would therefore forfeit his membership of the party, should he carry out his threat.
But he insisted that the decision was personal and irrevocable.
“I have a lot of parliament life burning in me and so I have decided to contest the election [in] 2012.
“This decision is personal, it’s irrevocable and non-negotiable, and there is no person in this country that I will meet to discuss this matter with.”
Mr Osei-Aidoo said his decision was informed by a lot of reasons but would not share them for now in order not to “muddy the waters”.
He however hinted that the “unreliable” polling stations album there could be a factor.
The former MP also chastised the party’s leadership for failing to “right the wrongs” in the constituency, even though they were aware of them.
He said for instance, he lost the party’s parliamentary primary to Naa Torshie Addo “in a bizarre circumstance” but as a “democrat” he accepted the result in good faith, expecting that the wrongs would be corrected. But he claimed past and present party executives have failed to act positively.
Mr Fred Oware, First Vice Chairperson of the party who said the party was putting measures together to heal all wounds after the weekend’s nationwide primaries in 220 constituencies said: “I am a bit surprised to hear this.”
He told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah on Monday that the party’s leadership would meet him to thrash out the differences.
In a related development, delegates in the Zibilla constituency in the Upper East region on Sunday threatened mayhem if the party fails to organise a parliamentary primary in three days.
They accused national executives of attempting to impose a candidate on the constituency, but Mr Fred Oware has denied that claim.
The Zebila constituency is one of ten the NPP chose to suspend primaries, a decision party officials say was in its best interest.
Source: Myjoyonline.com