The Member of Parliament for Odododiodioo, Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has claimed that the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Emmanuel Nii Ashie Moore, allegedly threatened Michael Nii Yarboi Annan not to participate in the party’s parliamentary primary six months ago.
According to the MP, the chairman allegedly stated that he would ensure Mr. Annan’s disqualification if he proceeded to pick up a form when the party opened nominations.
The NDC, in a previously issued report, explained that findings from a special committee established by the Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the party justified Mr. Annan’s disqualification from contesting the party’s parliamentary primary in the Odododiodoo Constituency.
Mr. Vanderpuye, in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday, said, “He (Annan) has been working with us until about six months ago when our Regional Chairman picked up his phone and called him, telling him that he had heard that he wants to contest in Odododiodioo. And that he is warning him that when the nomination is opened, he shouldn’t pick a form; if he picks a form, he will see to it that he is disqualified.”
According to the party, considering the evidence presented, the special committee was unable to endorse Mr. Annan’s qualification to contest the parliamentary primaries in the Odododiodoo constituency based on Article 41(8)(b) of the NDC Constitution, which stipulates that, “a member must be an active member of the party at the constituency level for the four years immediately preceding the date of filing nominations.”