President John Mahama has been given a 7-day ultimatum to remove the Kintampo North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Justice Michael Baffoe, or face the wrath of supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area.
A group within the NDC calling itself Northern Network and Associates for NDC Kintampo North (made up of NDC members who are non-indigenes of Kintampo) issued the threats over the weekends in Kintampo, based on what they described as the lackadaisical attitude by the leadership of the party in the region to call the MCE to order.
“We are giving the President one week ultimatum to sack the MCE if not we shall advise ourselves,” a statement signed by Tapog Plasidious, spokesperson of the network, pointed out.
According to the group, their action is to save the NDC party from losing the 2016 elections in the constituency following the conduct of Mr Baffoe.
Mr Tapog alleged, among other things, that the MCE has brought division among the leadership of the party in the area as he has sidelined a section of the constituency officers, including the chairman, George Markus Kpogo.
They also accused the MCE for allegedly organising some thugs to attack and collect the list of assemblymen prepared to pass a vote of no confidence in him, while charging him for meddling in chieftaincy issues.
However, speaking to DAILY GUIDE yesterday, the MCE denied all the allegations, claiming that members of the group could not prove any of their allegations before a team of regional and national officers who tried to resolve the impasse.
The constituency secretary, Emmanuel Kafui Venkumwimi, also corroborated the assertions of the MCE and described the group as a bunch of disgruntled party people who are on a mission to destroy the MCE for their personal gains.
The secretary explained that the network consists of party members who contested Mr Baffoe for the MCE position but lost.
He accused the constituency chairman for masterminding the activities of the group.
According to Mr Venkumwimi, the chairman recently led the network to write fictitious petition to Accra raising all sorts of falsehood against the MCE all in his attempts to get the chief executive removed.
He said prior to the selection of the MCE, about 21 names came up and those who did not get the position came together to fight the MCE and the leadership of Kintampo.
“Since then, they have been tormenting the MCE because they managed to get one of them elected as the constituency chairman. The chairman promised them (network members) that as soon as he becomes the constituency chairman, he will smoothen the way for them to prosecute their agenda against the MCE,” the constituency secretary alleged.
Mr Venkumwimi further stated that the agenda to get rid of the MCE was becoming difficult for the chairman to execute, so he (the chairman) had directed his anger at the chief executive.
The secretary further disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that the rest of the constituency executives, made up of 17 out of the 21 members, had presented a counter petition against the earlier one the chairman and his network presented to the party national leadership about the MCE.
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