TWO PEOPLE were arrested yesterday after supporters of Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh and the constituency executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) clashed over the withdrawal of 21 government appointees at the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly by President John Dramani Mahama.
In a letter to the assembly, President Mahama said he had substituted the current government appointees with a list of new ones ahead of an impending election to endorse or reject Mr. Yamoah Ponkoh whom the president has appointed for the position of Municipal Chief Executive (MCE).
Presiding Member (PM) of the assembly, Gabriel Ansah Sasraku, announced this at a meeting yesterday after receiving a letter notifying him of the president’s decision.
The meeting, which was to endorse or reject the nominee, was therefore postponed to April 12, 2016 to enable the assembly recognize the status of the new appointees by taking them through the necessary processes and procedures.
The latest move shows President Mahama’s strong preference for Kwaku Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh for the Ejisu-Juaben MCE position, despite protests from the Ejisu constituency executives of the NDC against the man’s candidature.
The development, which is considered by the party’s executives as “imposition of the president’s will” on them, did not go down well with their supporters who attempted to thwart efforts to effect the changes on that day.
An insistence by supporters of Yamoah Ponkoh however, created intense tension, resulting in a clash between them.
It took the intervention of police officers present to restore law and order, but that was after they had arrested and whisked away two of the supporters to calm tempers.
. The constituency executives had raised concerns against the re-nomination of Mr. Yamoah Ponkoh, citing his poor human relations as one of the things that could affect the fortunes of the NDC in the area.
In March this year, President Mahama re-nominated the controversial politician for endorsement as Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the Ejisu-Juaben Assembly.
Yamoa was among 13 people nominated by the president for various assemblies in accordance with Article 243 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and Section 20 (1) of the Local Government Act (Act 462).
Prior to his rejection, Yamoah had served a four-year term as Chief Executive Officer for the Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Assembly, which reign was fraught with controversies and infighting with NDC constituency executives.
In July last year, the NDC executives forced him to leave office when he refused to hand over, despite the fact that a letter to that effect had been sent to the assembly by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
The constituency executives, led by the chairman, Eugene Agyarko, openly opposed Yamoah’s re-appointment and canvassed that he should be rejected by the assembly members ahead of that election – a move that yielded the desired result.
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