Foot soldiers oppose Mills’ Nominee

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday March 15, 2010.
Tension is mounting within the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region following the nomination of Solomon Adjei Mensah as the new District Chief Executive (DCE) by President JEA Mills.

Irate foot soldiers are threatening to make it impossible for the former Assembly man to work in the area if President Mills refuses to drop him. They claim he was the same person who sabotaged former DCE, Kwadwo Adae before he was recently booted out of office by the President.

Sekyere East District with Effiduase-Asokore as its capital in recent times has become a battle ground for the NDC over who qualifies to lead the ruling party there.

It was the same area where the sacked Ashanti Regional Minister, Kofi Poku Manu was nearly lynched by rampaging NDC foot soldiers on September 8, 2010 when he tried to arrange a meeting between the feuding factions.

The agitators, made up of supporters and detractors of Mr. Adae, were at each other's throats and a police intervention averted what would have been a nasty scene.

The police had to fire several gunshots to disperse rampaging foot-soldiers and Mr. Poku-Manu had to flee for his dear life after he was chased with weapons including cutlasses, sticks and other dangerous implements amidst the firing of bullets.

Some of the agitators demanding that Adjei Mensah be dropped by President Mills include Kofi Antwi (Secretary of Asokore Pentecost Ward), Alhaji Inuwah Mohammed (Chairman Asokore Ward), Kwabena Prempeh (Chairman Effiduase Damang Ward), Kwasi Oteng (Chairman Akuakrom Ward ) and Stephen Okai (Okaikrom Ward).

In their petition of March 9, 2011, the agitators called for the immediate reinstatement of Mr. Adae who they said was a victim of circumstance.
They alleged that it was Solomon Adjei Mensah who instigated all the assembly members to collect a whopping GH¢45,000 (GH¢ 1,500 each) and mobile phones before approving the nomination of Mr. Adae as DCE in 2009.

They said Adjei Mensah worked against Mr. Adae when he was the DCE and that they did not understand why such a person should be nominated by the President.

The agitators said they sent a similar petition to the Castle and other high places including the NDC Headquarters on January 16, 2011 to draw the President’s attention to the nomination of Adjei Mensah but it appears nobody wants to act on the petition.

“In fact the silence seems to suggest to us that our membership does not matter to the party. In view of the above there is a strong feeling amongst the membership of the party at the Asokore Zongo and its surroundings that the party has forgotten us,” the petitioners lamented.

“We therefore have no alternative than to quit the party. It is a difficult decision but that is the course that both the regional and national executives of the party want us to take. They want us to leave the party,” they added.