NPP revolts again against troubled MCE Michael Amoah Awuku

Over the last couple of years, barely does a week pass without a new form of rancor or protest against Mr. Michael Amoah Awuku, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Atwima-Nwabiagya by the very people he is supposed to be seeking development for and it is a point of worry how the chief representative of the President in the District can function effectively amidst such continuous acrimony against his stay.

Indeed, considering the misunderstandings, protests, reported cases of harassments and the continuous nature of the acrimony, it would be a rather wild gamble and a risk of political suicide if President Nana Akufo-Addo nominates the same person for the MCE slot.

The cause of the revolt from several groups of persons, including chiefs and traditional leaders, some Members of the Assembly, leading New Patriotic Party (NPP) members and town folks in general has been that they do not want Mr. Michael Amoah Awuku to continue as MCE. They say any other nominee, except the incumbent.

They have consistently leveled a tall list of allegations against Mr. Michael Amoah Awuku, of which he has denied every single one of them but his accusers seem to have made up their minds that the conflict has degenerated into one against his person and he must therefore leave office at all cost.

The most recent of such allegations is one coming from Charles Henry Opoku , a NPP Electoral Area Coordinator for Gyankobaa in the Atwima-Nwabiagya South Constituency  who says he was subjected to humiliation at the just-ended Delegates Conference of the party held at the party’s Constituency Office at Afari.

Charles Henry Opoku, s a former Assemblyman for Gyankobaa Electoral area and current NPP Electoral Coordinator,  has alleged that the MCE caused his assigns to embarrassingly prevent him  from partaking in the party’s constitutional duties  because of a personal issue between the two of them.

Charles Henry Opoku alleges further, without evidence, that the MCE was behind that the conflict that nearly turned bloody but for the intervention of  armed police at the venue of the event.

According to Charles Henry Opoku he has openly campaigned against the retention of the MCE and he has not hidden it from anyone therefore he believes the MCE had also schemed to get him suspended from the position but the suspension plot failed.

“I am a Polling Station Coordinator for 12 years and I have never misconducted myself to warrant this kind of embarrassment. Is that the kind of party we want to grow in the constituency in order to break the 8”, he asked.

Though it seems from the surface that Michael Amoah Awuku has the goodwill and support of some relevant stakeholders, there is an equal or even higher level of wide spread agitations against any plans to retain him as MCE.

In politics, there is the fear of ‘god’ fathers and leaders in positions of influence therefore it is not surprising that some constituency executive members have claimed that they were compelled under duress to sign a recent petition which endorsed the retention of Mr. Michael Amoah Awuku as MCE

Some residents recently were up in arms against national and regional executives who were said to be muting the idea of retaining him compelling them to hit the streets in protest.

In a petition to the President on why Michael Amoah Awuku  must not continue as MCE, the aggrieved residents indicated that his presence caused a huge party disunity which lead to the MP obtaining little over 46,000 votes while President had over 58,000 votes an indication of more than 20% difference.

Armed police and military personnel were  later unleashed on the streets to disperse the demonstrators who insisted the current MCE is incompetent, disrespectful to traditional authorities and not fit to be given a second term after his tenure elapsed on January 7, 2021.

In view of the raging confusion amidst what appears to be acts of intimidation of key stakeholders  opposed to his re-nomination as MCE, some of the constituency executives  have revealed that they were compelled to sign a petition to the President through the Regional Minister Hon. Simon Osei-Mensah.

The protests and agitations against his retention seems to be rapidly gathering momentum.