NPP Youth Organiser Aspirants In Hot Exchanges

Two aspiring youth organisers of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Messrs. Prince Armah and Aboagye Boateng, are at each other�s throat, fighting to win support among the youth in the party. Last Saturday, the duo nearly traded blows at Agona Nkwanta in the Ahanta West Region, after accusing each other of using false campaign messages to win the hearts of potential delegates, who would be voting at the regional congress, to be held soon in Sekondi. Whilst Mr. Prince Armah said he had not made any disparaging remarks about Mr. Boateng, popularly known as �Abugyei,� to merit an attempt by his opponent to physical assault him in the full glare of other party members at the grounds of a constituency election held at Agona Nkwanta over the weekend, the latter has stood his ground pointing accusing figures at the former for spreading rumours that he was engaged in dirty campaigning. Mr. Prince Armah, who is unhappy about this development in the party, told The Chronicle in an interview, that he was not happy when he first heard the allegations being made against him by his opponent, so he approached him in a friendly manner to ascertain the fact, but he surprisingly flared up. Explaining the substance of the case, Mr. Armah told The Chronicle that he had a strange phone call from a friend, informing him that Abugyei was looking for him, over allegations that he, Prince Armah, has made against him. He said whilst it sounded strange to him, he also realised the consequences of such a rumour being peddled, so he quickly called �Abugyei� to ascertain the facts of the matter, and why he was after him. He narrated that when he finally go Abugyei on phone, he enquired from him why he was after him, but the latter requested for a meeting. According to him, when they eventually met, it was Abugyei who rather became angry and attempted hitting him, but some friends who were around intervened. Mr. Abugyei, in an interview with The Chronicle, confirmed the scuffle, but failed to give an explanation, but rather directed the Chronicle to Mr. Samson K, another known youth activist of the party, who reportedly told him what Mr. Prince Armah had said about his bid. When Samson K was also contacted he did not deny the report, explaining that the source of his information was in Accra. According to Samson K, the person who told him about what Mr Prince Armah had reportedly said had already been contacted by the latter for clarification. This was confirmed by Mr. Prince Armah, who also explained that it was Mr. Michael Ampong, one of the aspiring national youth organisers of the party, whose name had come up in the brouhaha, so he contacted him also for clarification. Mr. Michael Ampong, in a telephone interview, also confirmed the story, but distanced himself from the controversy. He said on rcord that although he knows Prince Armah personally, and worked closely with him in the organisation of the youth wing of the party�s activities, the same thing could not be said about Abugyei, therefore he could not have discussed Mr. Prince Armah with him. He said, what he did, which could have been misinterpreted by the youth activist, was that he recommended Mr. Prince Armah to one of the gurus of the party, as the best material for the regional youth organiser position, which Mr. Abugyei got wind of. Therefore, for Mr. Prince Armah to have descended in the gutters to launch scathing attacks on him on phone, as the man being the brain behind the allegations making rounds, was unfortunate. Mr. Ampong is therefore demanding an unqualified apology from Mr. Prince Armah for attacking him wrongly, even when he was in support of his bid for the position of the Western Regional Youth Organiser position.