Bantama NPP in Turmoil as Chairman Accuses Asenso-Boakye of Album Manipulation
The Bantama Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been plunged into turmoil ahead of its internal elections, with the Constituency Chairman, Fiifi Mensah, accusing the Member of Parliament for the area, Francis Asenso-Boakye, of masterminding the manipulation of the constituency’s electoral album.
The allegations triggered tension at the party’s constituency office, where rival supporters exchanged heated insults at the forecourt over the disputed album. The confrontation nearly turned violent before personnel from the Suntreso Police Command intervened to restore calm.
Following the incident, police invited Fiifi Mensah and the First Vice Chairman, Kingsley Attah, popularly known as Wofa Attah, to assist with investigations.
Addressing journalists, Mr. Mensah alleged that the MP had constituted a group to take control of the electoral album compilation process while deliberately sidelining him, despite being the constituency chairman.
According to him, several delegates who have faithfully served the party for between 12 and 16 years have been removed from the album because they are perceived to support his bid for re-election.
He further alleged that while some executives, including the First Vice Chairman, the Youth Organiser and some polling station executives, were allowed to register dozens of delegates, his request to include 19 delegates was rejected on grounds that they would vote for him.
Mr. Mensah insisted that the party had earlier reached a consensus that no existing delegate would be removed from the electoral album, but claimed that agreement had been ignored.
“I have no problem with the outcome of any election as long as the process is free, fair and transparent. If I campaign and lose, I will accept the verdict honourably. What I cannot accept is the manipulation of the system to satisfy someone’s selfish interest,” he stressed.
He questioned why he, as constituency chairman, had not been given access to the electoral album, describing the situation as a clear breach of party procedures.
The chairman disclosed that the misunderstanding began to escalate on Sunday, June 21, after which he reported the matter to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, who advised him to petition the appropriate party authorities.
According to him, the affected delegates are only demanding a peaceful election based on a credible electoral album.
To forestall what he described as further manipulation, Mr. Mensah revealed that he had locked the constituency office and taken custody of all copies of the electoral album until the matter is resolved.
“I am the constituency chairman and I am responsible for supervising the process. When I realised there were too many irregularities, I secured the albums because I want the issues resolved peacefully before the process continues,” he said.
Efforts to obtain a response from the Bantama MP, Francis Asenso-Boakye, on the allegations proved unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
