The right to vie for the Klottey Korle Constituency seat in the Greater Accra Region on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is being hotly contested for by three stalwarts of the party at its parliamentary primaries scheduled for June 13, 2015.
They are Mr Valentino Nii Noi Nortey, a former Constituency Chairman; Lawyer Philip Addison, lead counsel for the party’s 2012 presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in the 2012 election petition, and Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, a prominent member of the party.
Constituency profile
Klottey Korle consists of seven electoral areas, namely Kinkawe, Osu Doku, Ringway Estate, Osu Alata, Adabraka Official Town/Odorna, Adabraka/Tudu and Asylum Down.
The constituency has been described as the seat of government and the headquarters of most of the political parties in the country, including the NPP, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Progressive People's Party (PPP).
It is not for any reason that it is referred to as the Ghana Parliament Constituency, in that it houses the Parliament of Ghana, the Independence Square, the Accra International Conference Centre, the Accra Sports Stadium, the Supreme Court, the Fast Track High Court and almost all the Ministries.
Voting patterns
From 1992 to date, the seat has been held by four parliamentarians from three different political parties.
Mr Nathan Tetteh Mensah of the Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere (EGLE) Party was the Member of Parliament (MP) from 1992 to 1996.
Then it was taken over by Mr David Lamptey of the NDC from 1996 to 2000.
Mr Nii Adu Daku Mante of the NPP wrested the baton from 2000 to 2008.
The seat was, however, won by the NDC in 2009, under the leadership of Nii Armah Ashietey, who remains the MP for the area.
A heavy task would, therefore, be put on the shoulders of any of the three candidates of the NPP who emerges the winner after the party’s primary.
Nii Noi Nortey
Nii Nortey recently granted an interview to the Daily Graphic and stated his reason for contesting the primary.
“My reason for contesting is partly because the current MP has failed woefully and the NPP needs someone who understands the cries and pains of the people to represent them. And I think I have the credibility to match the MP boot for boot,” he said.
Born and bred at Osu in Accra, the 31-year-old real estate developer has followed the party since his tertiary education days at the University of Ghana.
During his short term as constituency chair, he ensured that a permanent office was secured for the party at Osu, bearing the cost all by himself.
The well-equipped office, which was inaugurated recently, is to help in the daily running of the constituency and was refurbished at a cost of GH¢15,000.
He also donated GH¢4,500 to the nine electoral areas in the constituency and GH¢500 as seed money for their welfare committees and presented 30 packs of plastic chairs and a number of branded party T-shirts to the electoral areas.
Additionally, Nii Noi has held a number of fora and sensitisation workshops in the constituency for both polling station and constituency executives on the tenets of the party and the needed preparations towards winning the seat for the party in the 2016 elections.
He is seen as a grass-roots man who can appeal even to floating voters. He has also promised not less than 65 per cent of the votes for the party when given the nod to lead the party, come 2016.
Philip Addison
He is popularly referred to as the “Pink Sheet Man” due to the dexterity with which he handled the 2012 Election Petition as the Lead Counsel for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
He recently expressed his interest to lead the party for the Klottey Korle Constituency to wrest power from the incumbent.
According to him, Nii Armah Ashietey has failed the electorates and he (Addison) could bring the party to power in the constituency.
The legal luminary said he was not afraid of his competitors, adding that they were rather an indication that the party had grown in democracy.
Nii Adjei Tawiah
Having handed Nii Armah Ashietey a tough competition in both the 2008 and 2012 elections, some think he is the right man for the job, in that he has been tried and tested.
For this reason, he is lacing his boots and doing his underground campaign in order to win the hearts of the electorate.
In spite of these, a win for any of the three is a win for the ‘Oson’ family and would need to work hard to win the seat back in the 2016 general election.
<<Print>>