Eastern Region NDC Executives hot

The Eastern Regional branch of the opposition National Democratic Congress Executives led by Bismark Tawiah Boateng, Alias ” Otafre Gya” who are seeking re-election are currently in hot waters as a new team within the party is lacing its boots to unseat the old executives in the upcoming party regional congress.

The Agenda 50 – 50 group led by Tawiah Boateng, chairman; Mark Oliver – Kevor, Secretary; Francis Annor Dompreh, Deputy Secretary, Ransford Owusu Boakye, Organiser; Evelyn Obiri Korang, Women’s Organizer, and Haruna Apaw Wiredu, Youth Organiser, are under pressure due to what the party members maintained was their abysmal performance which led the NDC into opposition in the last election.

Currently, three persons namely; Joe Wak, former aspirant, Ahiable Basil, defeated Akwatia parliamentary aspirant, and George Mensah Akpalu, former Lower West Akim MCE, now lecturer at Koforidua Technical University, are gunning for the chairmanship position to unseat Bismark Tawiah Boateng, while his regional secretary, Mark Oliver Kevor is also being challenged by Baba Jamal Konneh, the incumbent Communications Officer.

The new team which is said to be gaining grounds daily, is led by Basil Ahiable, as chairman; Naana Shirley, former Parliamentary Aspirant for Lower West Akim, who is coming in as the regional women organizer; Hackman Kabore, current deputy vying to become the substantive organiser; and Okai Mintah, a fresh entry as the youth organiser.

The agenda of the new team is that, the old executives caused the party to lose more votes and two of its parliamentary seats in the region namely; Akwatia and Upper Manya Krobo to the ruling New Patriotic Party in the 2016 elections, therefore, they don’t deserve to be maintained.

The ‘Operation Old Executives Must Go’ team is also seriously campaigning that, the old executives led by the regional chairman, have been exposed by the Kwesi Botchwey report for pocketing GH¢1 million meant for the 2016 campaign, which caused the party’s woes in the past election.

Tawiah Boateng, and Mark Oliver Kevor in July, 2016 launched the party’s so-called ‘Agenda 50-50’ votes in the Region, which is the home region of then opposition leader and now President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, but ended up losing massive votes.

The chairman and his team, even though denied pocketing the cash, the party members are opposing their re-election in the next regional congress.

In the bid to oust the old executives, the new team has launched a poster currently trending on social media which has the images of the old executives, with the harsh tag ‘Agenda OId NDC Executives In E/R Must Go’.

The incumbent executives have not thrown in the towel yet but have taken up the fight to retain their posts at all cost.

Daily Guide has gathered that, another fresh campaign message that the aspiring candidates are selling to the delegates is that, the poor performance of the party executives in the region in the 2016 elections, has led to leadership crisis in the party causing disunity at the helm, hence, when the new team takes over, it will restore peace and unity in the party.

The Eastern Region has been a stronghold of the NPP since 2000. In 1992, the party did not contest the general election. In 1996, the NDC won 15 parliamentary seats out of the 26 seats in the region.

The NPP has since won majority of the seats in subsequent elections. In 2000, the NPP won 18 out of the 26 seats; in 2004, the party won 22 out of the 28 seats; in 2008, 20 seats were won out of the 28 and in 2012, the party won 26 seats out of 33.

Apart from 1996 when the NDC won more seats than the NPP, the party [NPP] had consistently won more seats in subsequent elections.

In the 2016 elections, the NPP won 28 seats out of 33, with the NDC, now in opposition, winning 6 parliamentary seats.

The party will today [Monday] open nominations across the ten regions.