Tension is simmering in the Bekwai Constituency, following the emergence of two youth groups rooting for two parliamentary aspirants in the upcoming constituency primary.
The Concerned Youth of Bekwai are backing the re-election bid of the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP), Joseph Osei-Owusu, also known as Joe Wise, while the Patriotic Youth for Change are rooting for the candidature of Lawyer Kwasi Amofa Agyemang, popularly called ‘Amansie Broni’.
Mr.Osei-Owusu is the First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana. He has represented the Bekwai Constituency in the National Assembly since January 7, 2009.
Coming as the “Star of Amansie” (Amansie Nsoroma) then, he was mandated to represent the constituency as an independent candidate until he was later admitted back into the fold of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He maintained the seat in 2012 after he won the primary by beating Mr. Ignatius Kofi Poku Adusei, the former Deputy Minister of Local Government, who managed a miserable 37 votes. Joe Wise thus affirmed his popularity, as he swept 476 votes out of the 513 valid ballots cast at the Bekwai NPP Constituency Congress to contest on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party.
In June 2015, Joe Wise again polled 559 votes against 184 votes by his main contender, the former Member of Parliament for then Amansie East Constituency, Mr. Poku Adusei.
Mr. Amofa-Agyemang, a valuer and lawyer with over 20 years of experience, is the leader and Managing Partner of Valuation & Appraisal Consult.
He is trained as a Land/Estate Surveyor and Valuer from the University of Science and Technology with a BSc (Hons) in Land Economy, and also has an Executive Master’s Degree in Finance from the University of Ghana Legon. He is a Fellow of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS).
Mr. Amofa-Agyemang is experienced in valuation of fixed assets, landed properties, farms stocks and equipment, land acquisition, development and management, estate management and property investment appraisal.
He has worked in various capacities in both private and public institutions, thus serving as a good background for his present status as the Managing Partner of Valuation & Appraisal Consult, a property valuation consultancy firm.
The Concerned Youth of Bekwai, last Thursday, called on the National Executive Committee (NEC) to expedite action on the release of aspirants for the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries.
But the Patriotic Youth for change says there is no such group as the Concerned Youth of Bekwai, and that those constituting themselves as such are just seven in number and sympathetic to the Member of Parliament, Joe Wise, also known as Amansie Nsoroma, and, therefore, do not represent the youth in the constituency.
The Patriotic Youth for Change says it cannot sit aloof and allow a few greedy people surrounding the incumbent MP to dictate to the entire constituents.
In a statement signed by Philip Opoku Boateng, Devine Kwame Danquah, Asare Owiredu and Derrick Owusu, the Patriotic Youth debunked claims by one Eugene Osei Opoku, who now serves as spokesperson to Joe Wise, that Lawyer Amofa’s appeal at the national level had been thrown out, and that he had been disqualified and cannot contest on the ticket of the NPP in Bekwai.
The group appealed to the people of the Bekwai Municipality to disregard the claims by the so-called Concerned Youth of Bekwai, and remain calm and wait the NPP Steering Committee’s announcement on the impending primaries.
It indicated that Kwasi Amofa Agyemang is admired by a lot of the constituents due to his philanthropic activities, and has invested a lot in youth in the areas of education, sports, and the welfare of the people.
They referred to the donation of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) items, including Veronica buckets, hand sanitisers, soaps, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to hospitals, clinics, individuals and communities s in the Bekwai Municipality, as Lawyer Amofa’s contribution to fighting the pandemic lately.
The post Factions emerge in Bekwai NPP … Youth groups fight over idols appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS