ABOUT 200 people have put in applications for the posts of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) in the Greater Accra Region, Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the region, Ishmael Ashitey, has disclosed.
According to him, his outfit has been bombarded with applications from party members who are eager to occupy the top jobs in the 16 assemblies.
In an interview with DAILY GUIDE on Sunday, Mr. Ashitey, who has been nominated as the Greater Accra Regional Minister by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, pointed out that some assemblies have as high as 17 people competing to become the chief executive.
He said the region has two metropolitan, nine municipal and five district assemblies, and that the person the party would be looking out for is someone who is competent, committed to the party’s ideology and loyal, to become a chief executive.
Mr. Ashitey debunked claims that he is imposing MMDCEs on some assemblies, saying that he might have his favourites but the president has the power to appoint someone who believes in the principles and ideas of the party.
“My interest is to have people who are committed, competent and people who are loyal to help the party achieve its aim and I mean the manifesto,” he stated.
The former mayor of Tema indicated, “So far, nobody’s name has been removed from the list we intend to submit to the president, but we have done the list according to aggregation.”
He has suggested to the applicants to embark on serious lobbying. “Go on the ground and start talking to the elders in the party; talk to chiefs, talk to the elders in the society, talk to the people on the streets because these are the information that the BNI will send to the president to appoint the right person for the assembly,” he urged.
The former MP for Tema East advised applicants to remain calm after filing their applications and continue lobbying traditional authorities, party executives and residents of their areas for their support.
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