Bono NPP ready for April 25 primaries

All but one of the 11 incumbent New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Bono Region have to face stiff competition to either get the nod to represent the party in the December 7, 2020 election or be shown the exit during the party’s primaries scheduled for April 25, 2020.

At the end of the filing of nominations on Thursday, February 20, 2020, only the MP for Berekum West, who is also the Deputy Minister of Railway Development, Mr Kwaku Agyenim-Boateng, sailed through as an unopposed aspirant.

The ruling NPP has 11 of the 12 parliamentary seats in the region, with the Banda seat being occupied by the Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim.

Thirty-two aspirants, made up of 31 males and one female, will be seeking approval from the party’s vetting committee to take part in the upcoming primaries.

Analysis

The Wenchi Constituency has the highest number of aspirants as the incumbent MP, Professor George Gyan-Baffuor faces a challenge from three males and the only female among the 32 aspirants.

They are Mr Albert Ameyaw, Kojo Frempong, Dr Tina Abrefa Gyan and Yaw Opoku Atuahene.

Minister of Health

The Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has to wait till the end of the primaries to see whether delegates in the Dormaa Central Constituency will give him the go-ahead to contest the seat for the fourth time.

He is being challenged by another stalwart of the party, Dr Yaw Yeboah, while the Deputy Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation and incumbent MP for Dormaa East, Mr Kwasi Sabi, is being challenged by Mr Paul Twum Barima and Dr Kwabena Sarfo.

The Dormaa West contest will be between incumbent Ali Halidu Maiga and Ransford Amponsah, while the Chairman of the Health Committee in Parliament, Dr Kwabena Twum Nuamah, will face off with Mr Nelson Kyeremeh, Mr Paul Ofori-Ampofo and Mr Solomon Kyere Boadu in the Berekum constituency.

The Deputy Minister of Aviation and incumbent MP for Jaman South, Mr Maama Afful, is seeking to return to Parliament for the fourth time.

However, he can only achieve this if he is able to defeat two other contestants, Mr Yeboah Marfo and Alex Awuah, while Mr Siaka Stevens, the Deputy Bono Regional Minister and MP for Jaman North, has to go past three other contestants, Eric Yeboah, Daniels Fordjuor Agyemang and Tachi Richmond, before realising his ambition to contest the seat for the third time.

Minister of Employment and Labour Relations

The Sunyani West Constituency will be a battlefield for the incumbent MP and Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Ignatius Baffuor-Awuah, as he is being challenged by Mr Theophilus Asomah Kyeremeh and Mr Bernard Oduro Takyi.

The two, particularly Takyi, have vowed to cut short the ambition of the minister who is seeking to contest the seat for the fourth consecutive time.

Majority Chief Whip

In the Sunyani East Constituency, the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, who succeeded the late J.H Mensah, will be seeking to consolidate his grip on the seat since January 2009.

His quest to win the seat for the fourth time will, however, either be endorsed or rejected by the delegates who will be choosing between him and a colleague legal practitioner, Mr Alfred Tuah Yeboah.

Even though the incumbent MP for Tain, Mr Gabriel Osei, is yet to complete his first term in Parliament, his bid to become NPP’s candidate for the constituency for the second time is being challenged by Abdulai Alexander and Alex Ofori.