As Supreme Court Brings Election Petition to an End
By Cecil Mensah
Even before the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) finishes nursing its wounds over their defeat, with the election petition being heard by the nine –member justice panel of the Supreme Court, internal party politicking has started taking centre stage in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Some stalwarts of the NDC have begun positioning and jostling for the yet to be vacant executive positions in the party.
The National Chairmanship race, has also begun among the current Chairman Dr. Kwabena Adjei and his Vice-Chairman Mr. Kofi Portuphy, the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) boss, with Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, the former Minister for Local Government and Rural Development on the sideline secretly campaigning.
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Sources close to The Herald can confirm that even though the party has not finished with the election of polling station executives in the two hundred and seventy (270) Constituencies across the country, party members are secretly positioning themselves for the various elected slots in the party.
One position that is warming the political turf, aside the national chairmanship race is the Greater Accra Regional chairmanship race.
The position is held by Mr. Joseph Ade-Coker, one time Board Chairman of the relegated Accra Great Olympics Football Club.
The elections that saw Chairman Ade-Coker elected, were forcefully contested among Danny Annang, the former NDC Greater Accra Regional chairman on the two power blocs in the party; Rawlings factions and the Mills-Ahwoi faction.
The Herald’s sources can report that so far four individuals are keenly waiting for the whistle to be blown to kick start their campaign to wrestle the seat from Mr. Ade-Coker.
The four are; Mr. Ade-Coker, who is contemplating re-election for fear of suffering a humiliating defeat at the polls, Mr. Henry Spain, who shot into lime light, as a result of his decision to contest the Presidency of the Ghana Boxing Association (GBA), which he lost to lawyer Charles Zwenes.
The rest are Mr. Stephen Akwetey, one time Constituency Chairman for Krowor in the Greater Accra Region and former Board Member of Accra Hearts of Oak Football Club, as well as businessman domicile in the Nungua municipality, has also put in place a campaign machinery to oust the current chairman.
The chairman aspirants believe that chairman Ade-Coker has let the party down in the region, arguing that lack of proper planning and foresight on the part of Ade-Coker made the party lose the Ablekuma West Constituency seat to the NPP’s loud-mouth Member of Parliament (MP), Ursula Owusu and some key seats in the last elections..
Meanwhile, Mr. Andrew Okakoi, former parliamentary aspirant for Okakoi North Constituency is also alleged to be lacing his boots for the chairmanship race.
Mr. Okaikoi was also a one-time Board Chairman for Ghana National Council on Peoples with Disabilities (GNCPW) and husband to the former Minister for Information and later Tourism in the late President John Evans Atta-Mills administration, Mrs. Zita Okaikoi.
Mr. Okaikoi, according to sources, speaks Ga- Dangbe,Ewe and Huasa, hence has a strong support base in the zongo communities of the Greater Accra Region.
