<<Print>>

President John Evans Mills� last day tour of the Ashanti Region was greeted with demonstration from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) activists in Akrofuom Constituency. The protesters were there in their numbers at the Obuasi Black Park, where a durbar was held for the President, to reiterate their call for the re-nomination of Opoku Ampofo Manu as District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Adansi South District. Holding several placards with inscriptions, calling on the President to give the man another chance, the youth activists insisted that Ampofo was the right person for the job. It took the persuasion of the party�s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Daniel Ohene Agyekum, to calm the nerves of the protesters. Mr Ohene Agyekum, who prefers to be called Nana Obodua I, told the leaders of the demonstrators that they were causing a lot of embarrassment to him as chairman, which finally succeeded in warding them off from the occasion ground. Manu, a candidate of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2008 general elections for the constituency, was rejected as the president�s nominee for the position of DCE in two consecutive elections by 53 Assembly members, after he failed to secure the mandated two-thirds votes of members present as required by law (Act 462). He needed 36 votes of the Assembly to be sworn in as DCE, but obtained 32 votes in the first round of election whilst his fortune dwindled in the second round, polling 30 votes to the pleasure of his opponents from New Edubiase, the district capital.His ill-fated confirmation was blamed on the NDC Chairman of New Edubiase Constituency, Mr. Addai, who is reported to have openly declared that the position of DCE would not be given to the people of Akrofuom.