It would be extremely difficult for President Mahama to win Greater Accra in the 2016 elections, if Ade Coker is not stopped from undermining constituency executives. That is the verdict of the Ayawaso Central constituency chairman of the NDC, Ebenezer Arkutu.
He told myjoyonline.com most of his colleague constituency chairmen in the region are bitter and have serious issues with the regional chairman whose attitude he said could dwindle the party’s fortunes.
He accused Mr. Coker of being undemocratic as he unnecessarily overturn executive decisions at the constituency level without recourse to laid down procedures.
Arkutu said constituency executives have been rendered useless because whatever decision they reached, Ade Coker would foist his own on them, which is affecting administrative work at that level.
“Ade Coker is undermining my mandate and that of my colleague constituency chairmen by always going against the decision of the constituency executives,” he stated.
PRESIDENTIAL INTERVENTION
Ebenezer Arkutu called on President Mahama and National Chairman Kofi Portuphy to set up a committee to find out from the executives of the 34 constituencies in the region if they are satisfied with his leadership.
“Enough is enough. The NDC is slowly dying in the region due to Ade Coker’s dictatorship,” he assessed.
Using his situation as a case in point, Ebenezer was categorical that the regional chairman has an “unfinished business” with him after his attempts to disqualify him from becoming the constituency chairman. He said Ade Coker’s arbitrary decision to disqualify him was overturned by the Fast Track High Court.
Ade Coker has “a personal agenda to destroy me and make me fail”, Ebenezer suspects.
Ebenezer Arkutu
If he fails as the constituency chairman, that would mean Mahama too has also failed in the constituency, he underscored.
“I am therefore appealing to president Mahama, the leader of the NDC as well as the National Chairman Dr. Kofi Portuphy that they should set up an independent monitory committee to visit all the constituencies for a verdict of the leadership of Ade Coker because slowly and surely he is undermining the electoral fortunes of the party.
“And NDC, if care is not taken we are going to lose the region to the New Patriotic Party and that is going to be a disaster. So I am appealing to the president and the party to take this seriously, many of the leadership are angry and bitter because Ade Coker effectively has undermined the mandate of the constituency executive committees. We make decisions, he overturn them.”
He is also appealing to the party leadership to place the Ayawaso Central under the control of national chairman with the national organizer having a supervisory authority to represent their interest when they are dealing with the region. This, he said, is the surest way for the party to win the Ayawaso Central constituency, which has been held by the opposition NPP over a decade.
“Ayawaso Central is an orphan constituency for twenty years and many are bent on making history by reclaiming next year but the leadership of Ade Coker is making it impossible for the current generation leaders to realise their history and also to make it possible for the president to win the constituency comfortably,” the constituency chairman pointed out.
ASSEMBLY REPRESENTATIVE
Buttressing his point, Ebenezer Arkutu said Ade Coker removed his name from the list of government’s representatives to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly. He was replaced by the same person, one Sophia Dei, whom Ade Coker allegedly disqualified him to favour during the chairmanship race, he claimed.
He said when he enquired about it, he said Ade Coker retorted that his name was removed by President Mahama because he wanted a woman from that constituency.
“The woman is not a constituency executive, even if you want to change me and you are claiming it was the president who replaced me then it should go to our women organizer Nancy Tedeku because the constituency executives decided the two of us.”
When myjoyonline.com contacted Mr. Ade Coker he declined to comment about the issue. “I am not responding to anything ok, please, I don’t know what you are talking about,” he stated.
