Independent candidate contests Bekwai seat

History is about to repeat itself at Bekwai, following the intention of Lawyer Akwasi Amofa-Agyemang to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections as an independent candidate.
Lawyer Amofa-Agyemang has allegedly been disqualified from contest in the impending New Patriotic Party (NPP) primary, thus qualifying the sitting Member of Parliament (MP) and First Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei-Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise, to contest unopposed.
A close source to the disqualified candidate confided in The Chronicle that “Lawyer Amofa is going independent, since they (National Executive Committee) are imposing Joe Wise on us.”
The Chronicle source said a series of meetings are ongoing and that the official launch of the candidature of the embattled aspirant would probably take place next week.
On November 8, 2008, Mr. Osei Owusu launched his campaign as an independent candidate at Ofoase-Kokoben in the Bekwai Constituency, after he had been beaten with a single vote by the then sitting MP, Mr. Ignatius Kofi Poku Adusei, at an NPP primary, held at a local church at Kokofu.
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 NPP.
Mr. Osei-Owusu has since January 7, 2009 represented Bekwai Constituency in the National Assembly.
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, then Member of Parliament for then Amansie East Constituency, Mr. Poku Adusei.
The Bekwai MP obtained 49,894 (86.06%) votes, 47,972 votes (85.17%) and 34,700 votes (76.70%) in the 2016, 2012, and 2008 elections respectively.
Lawyer Kwasi Amofa-Agyemang, alias Amansie Broni, a valuer and lawyer with over 20 years experience, declared his intention to contest the Bekwai NPP primary when nominations opened earlier this year.
After initial challenges, Lawyer Amofa managed to secure nomination forms and submitted them last February to the Constituency Secretary, Mr. Atta Owusu Boateng, with the hope of contesting the seat at the primary, which was initially slated for April 25, but was postponed indefinitely because of the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Information trickling in from Bekwai indicates that Lawyer Amofa has been disqualified for which reason he intends to go solo in this year’s parliamentary elections for the Bekwai seat.
Seth Amoako, an aide of Lawyer Amofa, responded to The Chronicle enquiries saying: “There are no official reports yet, but since they are imposing Joe Wise on us, Lawyer Amofa is going independent.”
“We (sympathisers and supporters) are meeting on Sunday to firm [up] the decision,” he stressed.
Supporters of Lawyer Amofa-Agyemang claim the Bekwai seat has to be protected from falling in the hands of the opposition National Democratic Congress, because Mr. Joe Osei-Owusu is becoming unpopular.
Mr. Michael Effah, a former Presiding Member of the Bekwai Municipal Assembly, pointed to disaffection among party members and following in the Bekwai Constituency as the main reason why Lawyer Amofa-Agyemang entered the race to salvage the Bekwai parliamentary seat, and avoid the threat of the “skirt and blouse” voting pattern at the 2020 elections at the expense of the fortunes of the NPP, just as the Bekwai MP did in 2008 to rescue the seat.
Lawyer Amofa-Agyemang, who seems to be engaged in a series of meetings and talks with the NPP hierarchy since his purported disqualification, has declined to respond to The Chronicle probing regarding his position.
Lawyer Akwasi Amofa-Agyemang 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 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 also a lawyer and has been called to the Ghana Bar.
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 in Accra.
Lawyer Amofa-Agyemang was a member of the NPP legal team at the 2012 Election Petition trial.

The post Independent candidate contests Bekwai seat appeared first on The Chronicle Online.

Read Full Story