The Ashanti Regional leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has refuted allegations suggesting the suspension of their Women’s Organiser within the region.
These claims arose due to her public endorsement of a candidate from an opposing party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), in the flagbearership race.
Earlier reports had indicated that the NDC’s Kumawu office had taken the decision to remove Akua Afriyie, the Women’s Organiser, from her role for openly expressing her support for Alan Kyerematen, a contestant in the New Patriotic Party’s flagbearer competition.
This decision to remove her allegedly stemmed from a video in which she vocally expressed her admiration for the opposing party’s candidate.
However, in an official statement dated August 9, 2023, the leadership of the NDC in the Ashanti Region categorically denied any knowledge of an individual fitting the description of a women’s organiser or party executive at any tier of the organization.
They characterized these reports as baseless and intended to cause harm, emphasizing that no women’s organiser affiliated with their party had made any such declaration.
Furthermore, they asserted that no suspension of this nature had been implemented by any branch of the party.
The name mentioned in the reports, Akua Afriyie, was clarified to hold no presence within their party records as a women’s organiser or party executive, whether at the branch, constituency, or regional level, as detailed in their statement.
“The said name (Akua Afriyie) which is linked to the story does not exist in any of our records as a party women’s organizer or party executive either at the branch constituency or regional level,” it continued.
Below is the statement:
According to news reports, the Ashanti Regional leadership has dismissed Akua Afriyie from her role as the Women’s Organiser.
This action was taken due to her public endorsement of Alan Kyerematen, a contender in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer race.
The decision to remove her from her position was apparently influenced by a video in which she vocally expressed her admiration for Alan Kyerematen, the opposition candidate.
In the video, Akua Afriyie can be heard stating that although she is a member of the NDC, she would cast her vote for Alan Kyerematen if he is presented as the NPP’s candidate in the 2024 general elections. She further commented that Alan, a former Minister of Trade and Industry, possesses the vision necessary to alleviate Ghana’s existing challenges and to inspire the nation’s youth towards greatness.
Reportedly, she remarked, “I am currently not a member of the NDC or a member of the NPP, but I am a strong supporter of Mr. Kyerematen.”