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BARELY 24 hours after a group of angry National Democratic Congress (NDC) foot-soldiers captured Ashaiman�s main bus terminal, the group struck again on Saturday. This time around, they beat up some of the party executives and vandalized the constituency�s party office. Among those beaten up were the party organizer, James Vee-Jay and three other executives as well as some other party members who had arrived at the place for a press conference at the invitation of the party organizer. According to Vee-Jay, he had invited journalists to the constituency office for a conference press when the marauding foot-soldiers besieged the office and accused him of disrespecting the party chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Gomda and his vice, Umar Sadat. Alhaji Gomda allegedly led the attackers to take over the terminal the previous day where cash and other things were looted. They accused the Municipal Chief Executive of �chop-chop�, giving out juicy contracts to his girlfriends and not developing the municipality. Vee-Jay alleged that the foot-soldiers subjected him and others to severe beatings. He denied disrespecting the chairman and his vice, explaining that his press conference was aimed at setting the records straight. �All I wanted to do was to mention that our party, the NDC�s issues should not be meddled with that of the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA). The two are separate institutions and must be seen as such.� The aggrieved youth, who pounced on the organizers, alleged that the press conference was being sponsored by the Ashaiman Municipal Chief Executive, Numo Addinortey Addison. Vee-Jay said that although the NDC was in power, it was wrong for any individual or group of persons to unlawfully take up the responsibility of the municipal assembly, making nonsense of the foot-soldiers� earlier action at the bus terminal. �I, together with other party executives and members, had just settled down for the commencement of the press conference when the boys just barged in and immediately started beating me with sticks. I almost lost one of my eyes in the process. They beat some of the executives and hit the heads of the women present against wall in the office after which they went on to destroy a computer and its accessories and a television set in the office.� Vee-Jay accused the constituency chairman and his vice of inciting the group to attack him and other persons. He mentioned tables, chairs and louvre blades as some of the things destroyed during the attack. �The guys were wielding machetes, spears and other offensive weapons making it difficult to try to stop them. We had no option but to flee the office to the Ashaiman Police Station where we lodged complaint with the police.� He said another shocking thing about the incident was that both the chairman and his vice had failed to call him after the attack. Vee-Jay said the case was now with the police. Alhaji Gomda described the organizer�s allegations as untrue. He said he had just arrived at the party�s office when he realized that the organizer and some party followers were seated in one of the offices, compelling him to ask what their mission was. He then got to know that the organizer had invited the media and some party members for a press conference and quickly added that just as he was about to leave the room, the foot-soldiers entered and started beating everyone in the room. �I had to run for my dear life and even left behind my footwear at the scene in the process. My brother who was present sustained three cuts on the head and I had to rush him to a medical facility in Ashaiman.� He blamed the MCE for all the problems in the constituency. �He knows what he is doing. He knows that he, unlike some of us, could easily leave the party should we lose elections in 2012 hence his failure to adhere to our numerous advices (sic),� the chairman said. He believed that if top party officials at national level did not ensure that the MCE was removed from office, the party would suffer in 2012. Mr. Numo Addinortey Addison denied any wrongdoing as alleged by chairman. He said it could not be true that he, as the MCE, had awarded contracts to his cronies because contract awarded by the assembly went through so many processes presided over by independent people whose credibility could not be easily questioned. �It is not true that I am creating problems for the party in Ashaiman. If there is anyone whose action could be described as disturbing, then it is no other person than Gomda,� the MCE stated. He said everything was being done to ensure that such incidents would not recur in the constituency as it could affect the fortune of the party in the next elections.