NPP Sued Over Ahmed Arthur

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Wednesday November 16, 2011
Three Polling Station Chairmen of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Okaikoi south Constituency have sued the party over the endorsement of Ahmed Arthur as the party’s parliamentary nominee for the Constituency.

Mr. Arthur and another NPP stalwart, Vicky Bright contested the April 30, 2011 NPP Okaikoi South primary for the party but the party’s recognition of Mr. Arthur as winner of the polls has sparked this instant action.

Apart from the NPP as an entity, the plaintiffs - Mark Osapa Yawson, Joseph Amasa Ashie and John Hayford Woode - have also cited the party’s national chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, general secretary Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie and Ahmed Arthur as the defendants.

In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs who are represented by Eric Atieku of Deleric Law Consult, said prior to the contest, the party requested all interested applicants to submit their profiles and other personal information which the two contestants did.

“Among the information to be provided in the nomination form by prospective candidates is ones educational background including previous schools and certificates obtained which were attached to the forms.”

The plaintiffs averred that when Ahmed Arthur submitted his nomination forms, he indicated that he had ‘A’ Level and had done short courses in Public Relations/Management and Journalism at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) but did not attach the certificates.

They said in spite of Mr. Arthur’s failure to submit the certificate, the vetting committee set up by the NPP cleared him to contest the Okaikoi South seat for the party in the 2012 parliamentary elections.

According to the plaintiffs, after the primary when the Okaikoi South Constituency executives wrote to GIJ to verify the claim by Mr. Arthur that he had short courses at the institute, the registrar wrote to tell them that Mr. Arthur had no records there.

The plaintiffs say in view of what they called “the obvious false declaration” made by Mr. Arthur, the defendants should have disqualified the co-defendant (Mr. Arthur) before he won the contest.

The plaintiffs averred that later when a committee was set up by the party Chaired by Deputy Minority Leader Ambrose Derry to look into the matter, the committee came to the conclusion that Mr. Arthur indeed made false declaration in his nomination forms.

They said the committee recommended that Mr. Arthur be disqualified and the entire processes start afresh because the previous vetting was defective.

According to the plaintiffs, the NPP on July 4, 2011 directed that nominations be opened for all interested candidates on the same day and close on July 8, 2011 for a re-run of the contest.

The plaintiffs say that since the fourth defendant has been found to make false declaration in his nomination form an act which smacks of fraud, the national council was wrong in upholding Mr. Arthur’s appeal.

“The decision of the National Council therefore ought to be set aside and the fourth defendant disqualified.”