News:
May 7, 2015
Outspoken Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyepong has commended executives of the New Patriotic Party Greater Accra Regional Office, for refusing to implement a waiver issued by the party General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong for some Parliamentary aspirants.
He said any such unilateral stance taken by whichever party executive must be resisted as it is not representative of any decision taken by the National Executive Council.
Mr. Kwabena Agyapong directed that three parliamentary aspirants pay ₵15,000 instead of the required ₵30,000 noting that the practice is normal and has been used in the party since time immemorial.
“Waivers have always been used in our party, past general secretaries have used it before; I am not the first person to be using it. “I recall that it was used for deputy minority leader Dominic Nitiwul when he crossed-carpet from the PNC to the NPP, even when we were in government.
But contributing to a discussion of Adom TV’s Badwam show on Thursday, Hon. Kennedy Agyepong insist that Mr Agyepong has no right to single handedly reduce filing fees for any aspirant, urging constituency executives to be bold and reject all aspirants who present waiver letters.
“At the party’s last National Executive Council meeting, I was present and I recall that the house took a decision to waive the filing fees for a section of the aspirants including the disabled and the youth and not any other persons outside these categories” he said.
“The General Secretary should have come back to the NEC to seek approval for the waiver since they had earlier taken a position. In issuing a waiver, the General Secretary has to hold a discussion with executives of constituencies where such waivers are to be implemented, before the aspirants present the letters and it shouldn’t come to them as a surprise” he added.
Hon. Ohene Agyepong stressed the need for the Party executives not to be “power drunk” as such tendencies have the potential of marring the unity and electoral success that the party so much yearns for.
Kwadwo Anim/Ghanamps.gov.gh