Minister Abandons Akropong Seat For Awuku

…Runs To Okaikoi North, As Ken Kuranchie, Issah Fuseini Parliamentary Ambition In Limbo

The sitting Member of Parliament (MP) for the Akropong constituency in the Eastern Region, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, has apparently absconded from the area for a different constituency, ahead of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary primaries.

The two-term MP, who doubles as a deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, The Anchor gathered, is lacing her boots to contest the party’s parliamentary primaries, but this time in the Okaikoi North constituency in the Greater Accra Region.

The one-time Deputy Minister of Information is said to have arrived at this decision, after weighing her chances in the constituency and juxtaposing them with the might of the former national organizer of the NPP, Sammy Awuku, who is now the Director-General of the National Lottery Authority (NLA).

Insiders told The Anchor that, though the decision to chicken out was difficult for the MP, yet it had to be taken to allow peace to reign in the area. She also supposedly does not want to gamble.

Generally, an incumbent MP moving from one region to contest in another region typically does not happen in politics, as, in the past, MPs only moved from one constituency to other constituencies in the same region. The last time a sitting MP from one region moved to another and succeeded was in 2000.

In that instance, Abubakar Saddique Boniface contested the then Salaga constituency seat in the then Northern Region as an independent candidate in 2000 and won. After four years, he joined the NPP and won again on that ticket.

Interestingly, he later lost the seat and moved to the Greater Accra Region and contested in Madina constituency in the Greater Accra Region and snatched the seat from the National Democratic Congress (NDC’s) Amadu Sorogho in 2016.

In the case of the 41-year-oldAkropongMP, who is now working behind the scenes to unseat the NDC’s Theresa Awuni, who snatched the seat from then NPP’s legislator, Issah Fuseini, many have questioned the intention behind her decision.

The Okaikoi seat had often fallen to the NPP, until Ms Awuni’s unforeseen victory in 2020.

Others too have described as interesting, what may likely happen in the event that the deputy minister is successful in the NPP primaries, as, already, Theresa Awuni is going into the 2024 election unopposed.

The Director-General of the NLA is rumoured to be interested in the Akropong constituency seat, and this paper has gathered that Mr.Awuku has been harbouring this dream for a long time.

Last week, he was heard on radio saying that he is being called by the chiefs and people to contest. A while back, a giant billboard was spotted in the constituency, perhaps to prepare the minds of the people.

Officially, he has not come out to declare his intention, yet his activities in the constituency are clear for all to see and according to close sources he will compete for it.

He is said to be transforming the Akropongarea, though he is yet to occupy the seat.

The last time he was heard in the constituency was when, through the NLA’s Good Causes Foundation, he donated four boreholes to the people of Abotakyi in the Akuapem North district.

This has fueled the speculation that, he will at all cost unseat the incumbent, because he is resourceful and his popularity both in government and in the NPP is unmatched.

Even though the sitting MP too is resourceful and popular to some extent, insiders say she cannot match the strength of the NLA boss.

It is in this vein that the MP has decided to leave the Akropong seat for Sammy Awuku, who has risen through the party’s ranks to the top, having served as adeputy communications director, a youth organizer and a national organizer, among others.

The often quiet MP, is married to a party member in the person of Charles Bissue, a former Presidential Staff and ex-Secretary of the NPP in the Western Region who is also eyeing the Esikado-Ketan constituency seat which is currently occupied by a presidential hopeful, Joe Ghartey.

Ken Kuranchie’s Chance

But another school of thought has said that the MP is switching to the Okaikoi North constituency to neutralize the hostility between the former MP, Issa Fuseini, and the veteran journalist, Ken Kuranchie.

Many believe, her presence in Okaikoi North will affect the two rivals’ chances of taking back the seat for the ruling party.

The two had in the 2020 primaries contested each other,and Issa Fuseini defeated the managing editor of the Daily Searchlight newspaper, a result that leftthe party sharply divided between the two men.

There are speculations that the two gentlemen are going to contest again when nomination is opened by the NPP.

So, to avoid further division, the NPP is bringing in Ama Dokua to strategically ensure that someone, other than Ken or Fuseini, wins the primary to battle it out with the NDC.

Meanwhile, The Anchor is also informed that a former parliamentary aspirant for the constituency, who contested a former MP, Elizabeth Sackey, who is now the mayor of Accra, is still powerful and in the picture, even though it is not to contest.

Seth Adjei Baah aka Shaaba, a businessman and politician, who is a former Member of Parliament for the Nkawkaw constituency in the Eastern Region, has people he controls in the party and may play a big role in the coming primary.

This paper will keep its eyes on the developments in both Okaikoi North and Akropong constituencies and update cherished readers.

Source: Anchorghana.com