Jirapa NPP executives resist attempts to remove MCE
New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Jirapa Constituency have mounted fierce resistance against a petition by some Assembly members to President Akufo-Addo to remove Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) Christine Bonbanye Amadu from office over allegations of corruption.
A petition dated 15th October, 2018 and signed by nine Assembly members of the Jirapa Municipal Assembly in the Upper West Region demanded the removal of Madam Christine from office, accusing her of engaging in illegitimate deals and inflating contract sums.
The MCE has confirmed receipt of the Petition to the Ghana News Agency, but declined to comment on the matter.
But at a news conference this week in Jirapa, the constituency executives of NPP have rubbished the multiple claims of impropriety levelled against Madam Christine as “self-seeking and frivolous” and one that “lack substance and credibility.”
Mr Augustine Tengan, the Jirapa Constituency Financial Secretary of NPP told journalists that persistent agitations for the removal of MCEs from office in the Municipality was troubling and undermining social and economic progress of the recently elevated town and urged President Akufo-Addo to disregard the petition.
“We should recall that this continuous agitations of Jirapa youth towards every appointee of government is becoming a nuisance and as well creating an ill-habit or culture which if not immediately corrected will eventually develop into an attitude,” he said.
“Jirapa is a peaceful town and no individual or group of persons can destabilise the peace and security we are currently enjoying under the government of NAADA [Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo] and his representative in the Municipality”.
Mr Tengan said the MCE had initiated and completed several social and economic projects including; rehabilitation of dilapidated classroom blocks and upgrading of the MCE official residence that could now host top state officials including; the President as well as opening CHPS Compounds among several projects.
Therefore, he said, the constituency NPP executives considered the heightened campaign to remove Madam Christine from post as “parochial and selfish, generated out of hatred and sheer agenda to mar her reputation”.
“Let’s not forget that it has been a while since we heard of armed robbery cases in this municipality after some pains-staking but pragmatic steps were taken to deal with and bring the municipality to this peaceful state”.
According to him, the Economic and Organised Crime Office and the Internal Auditor as well as the Auditor General investigations into the matter found the MCE blameless and challenged the Petitioners to access reports by those institutions for perusal.
“Their discoveries and revelations vindicated Madam Christine Bonbanye Amadu. The reports of these institutions are public documents and as such could be accessed by any concerned citizen at the records of the Municipal Assembly,” he said.
The Constituency Secretary of NPP, Mr Vitus Bayor, in an interview with the GNA on the side-lines of the news conference claimed two persons vying for the Presiding Member (PM) position of the Assembly were the cause for the agitations and called on them to step down for fresh nominations.
He claimed the duo – Mr Richard Badombie and Mr Karim Kuuri, both Assembly members – were “known and card bearing” members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which the GNA could not independently verify at the time of filing this report.
The two are reported to have ever contested for constituency positions of the NDC in the area.
The GNA sources at the Jirapa Municipal Assembly said the two contenders had made six attempts in three assembly sessions but failed to secure the required votes for the position of PM.
Mr Bayor expressed the belief that resignation of the two leading contenders could end the brouhaha and bring lasting peace to the area as the people were itching for speedy development.
Source: GNA