Chiefs in Ekumfi in the Central Region have reacted to President Akufo-Addo’s comment that he did not pay attention to the development needs of the Ekumfi area because the people rejected his choice of Parliamentary candidate in the 2020 election.
The President mentioned that the rejection of the New Patriotic Party’s Parliament Candidate for Ekumfi, Ato Cudjoe, made him neglect the people and deny them some developmental projects for a while.
At a press conference organised by the Chiefs of the Ekumfi on Monday, January 29, 2024, the Paramount Chief of the area, Odeefo Akyin VIII, said the pillars of democracy include the ability of the people to freely elect who they deem fit to be their representative in Parliament.
“Per our understanding of the very Constitution which recognises free and fair elections, one of which made His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the President, there is no provision in the 1992 Constitution which mandates the President to decide who the people of Ekumfi or for that matter any other constituency must elect to represent them in Parliament as their legislature,” he said.
He expressed shock at the comment made by the President as his reason for denying the constituency their share of the national cake. He therefore called on the President to provide track records of the NPP candidate, who is a former Member of Parliament for the constituency.
“Our belief is that an accurate data would justify the President’s claim that Honourable Ato Cudjoe should have been retained by the people of Ekumfi,” he added.