Accra, April 9, GNA – A group calling itself the Concerned Members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMa), has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to replace Reverend Solomon Kotey Nikoi, as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the area.
The Group said the MCE did not deserve a re-appointment due to his “incompetence, divisive leadership” and the “destructive role” he played in the loss of the parliamentary seat in the 2020 General Elections.
Madam Gifty Asiedua Antwi, Secretary of the Group, said the MCE had brought deep divisions and weakened the Party’s stance in the Municipality by intimidating and using his position to victimise those he thought did not support his “failed” and “short-sighted” agenda, which allegedly led to their defeat.
“The MCE and the acting Chairman hijacked the Party from the Council of Elders, other relevant elders of the Party, including the three living past Parliamentary Candidates as well as the official Constituency campaign team. They simply did what they wanted. All those perceived to be non-supporters of their candidate during the primaries were hounded out of the Party,” she said.
The Secretary alleged that the MCE had failed to provide a vision, clear path and collaborative structures to excite the Party supporters.
Madam Antwi said Rev Nikoi’s leadership style was “autocratic, un-collaborative, lacked basic understanding of administrative procedures and un-refined public engagements,” which resulted in lack of respect from Assembly staff and created a poor image of the Party.
Madam Janet Offei, a member of the Group, said since the MCE took over office, there had not been any clearly defined agenda of the Assembly aimed at transforming the community nor promoting the “fortunes of the Party.”
“Regrettably, the MCE has only been obsessed with activities to entrench himself and hold on to the position with total disregard to behaviours and conduct, which will boost morale of staff at the Assembly or get the general constituents to get on board and buy in into the Assembly’s programmes and make the Party attractive”.
“In the end, the Party could not boast of any ‘weighty’ achievements of the Assembly to use for the general elections and was rather left with irrelevant projects, which could not engage nor assure the electorates that we deserve to be rewarded with further responsibilities of leading the Constituency,” she said.
The Group presented petitions to the office of Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, First Lady of the Republic of Ghana and the Party Head Office, after the press engagement.
Meanwhile, the MCE has debunked the accusations, saying he was a father for all.
He said his vision was to bring peace, development and stability so that the Party would be the preferred choice in LaDMa.
Rev Nikoi said out of 17 party executives in the Municipality, 13 of them had endorsed him as a worthy candidate for a re-appointment, as well as 16 out of 22 party coordinators.
He said he had spearheaded several developmental projects, namely, the rehabilitation of an 8-unit classroom block at Maale Dada School, construction of a 2-storey 12-unit classroom block at Burma Camp Senior High School, construction of drainages at La Kanem Factory, Tseaddo Zion hut and Nativiti area, among others.
The MCE said the Municipality had supported several persons with disabilities by providing them with containers and GH¢ 1,000.00 as start-up capital for their preferred businesses and supported close to 200 youths through tertiary institutions.
He said hitherto, every MCE lived in a rented apartment but upon his arrival, he started the construction of an MCE’s bungalow which was currently in its final stages of completion.
GNA