A group of New Patriotic Party (NPP) members in the Jaman South constituency of the Bono Region have been accused of orchestrating the “skirt and blouse” phenomenon that led to the party losing the parliamentary seat to the NDC in the 2020 elections.
According to the constituency secretary, Samuel Obeng Takyi, the group is only seeking the attention of National Executives with their myriad of false allegations.
“These are people who plan lies and think that discerning minds would buy into it. They are the proponents, propagandists, and orchestrators of the “skirt and blouse”, and they are now looking for attention, which they are finding it difficult to get”.
He said the reality is now hitting them after they failed to use internal party avenues to resolve their concerns and campaigned against the party’s parliamentary candidate.
Mr. Obeng Takyi, however, said the elected constituency executives have the support of the rank and file of the party and would do everything possible to win the seat back for the NPP.
Godfred Kwang, a leading member of the aggrieved group, at a recent press conference alleged that no Polling Station Executives, Electoral Area Coordinators, and Constituency Executives Elections were conducted in the Jaman South Constituency from January 2022 to date.
He also alleged that the elections committee secretly prepared and presented an album to the party headquarters, which they described as fictitious, hence their court actions and petitions to the party to intervene to halt the division in the constituency and boost their chances to recapture the seat they lost to the NDC.
But at a press conference in Drobo to respond to the allegations, the constituency executives, led by the secretary, Samuel Obeng Takyi, said it is erroneous and factually inaccurate for anybody to suggest that there have not been any polling station and constituency executives elections in Jaman South.
He said the National Council of the party, after the back and forth, “then set up a new committee headed by Abdul Razak Oppong, the Bono Regional Youth Organizer, to organize the constituency delegates conference to elect constituency executives,” since the old committee had finished its work.
He further stated, “The elections were held on Saturday, May 7, 2022, at Awasuman SHS, Dwenem,” which ushered in the existing constituency officers.
Mr. Obeng Takyi noted that despite the aggrieved members urging certified delegates to stay away from the election, they still recorded a 94% voter turn-out.
He, however, admitted that the electoral commission, for “whatever reason,” could not supervise the elections as required, but said that should also not stall the activities of the party, citing some precedents in the region.
“The newly elected constituency officers and their appointees have taken part in both the regional and national executive elections to elect regional and national officers, respectively”, he further stressed.
“What they (aggrieved members) seek to achieve is to create confusion and division in the party so that their other “skirt and blouse” collaborators can capitalize on the supposed division to run for independent candidate,” the constituency secretary alleged.
He, therefore, called on the National Council of the Party to disregard the distractors and focus on the conduct of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential primaries to select winnable candidates to break the eight.