Navrongo NDC dismisses claims that Kofi Adda supported his campaign

Monday December 28, 2020 Policy

Source: Senyalah Castro, Contributor

2020-12-28

Navrongo’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) said it would not sit and watch as some people in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the region discredit the hard work they put in to secure a victory that saw them wrest the parliamentary seat and win the presidential slot in the December 7 general election.

The NDC said it drew their attention to the fact that some NPP members at a recent press conference mentioned that outgoing MP Joseph Kofi Adda made huge cash donations and had campaigned heavily for the NDC and its parliamentary candidate who aided their victory.

He said the allegations were not true and were a figment of the NPP’s imagination as it received no financial or campaign support from Mr. Adda. He said the charges were baseless and urged the public to throw them at the dogs.

In a statement signed by the constituency scribe, Dr Selanwiah S. Abdul-Mumin, in response to the allegations, the NDC argued that it had experienced a triumph in the elections due to the fact that their candidate – Sampson Tangombu Chiragia, s ‘was credibly honored throughout the campaign period.

The statement said their candidate identified with the people and demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he was there to build Navrongo through unity and courage, which won him the confidence of the voters.

The NDC stressed that it won the election through hard work and campaigned with the parliamentary candidate’s savings and contributions from friends, supporters and party loyalists – not through the support of a individual such as Joseph Kofi Adda.

The NDC statement said in parts: “It came to the knowledge of the NDC in the central constituency of Navrongo thanks to a press conference of some electoral zone coordinators, leaders of polling stations and faithful of the New Party. Patriotic Party that the NDC and its parliamentary candidate – Hon. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia has received a lot of support from the current MP – Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda, including a huge cash donation. We would have treated him with the contempt he deserves, but because of a few unsuspecting and gullible people who might fall for this spurious and political shenanigans, we must set the record straight.

“First, we would like to state unequivocally that these allegations are absurd, ridiculous and ridiculous; they are not based on facts. This nefarious and sinful labeling is the fruit of their own imagination; it is based on guesswork and innuendo. To set the record straight, neither the NDC nor its parliamentary candidate received a penny from the Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda and anyone with evidence to the contrary should be prepared to make it public.

The respected MP was never a part of the many campaign teams and activities of the Democratic National Congress throughout the election season.

“The campaign activities of the NDC were funded by the parliamentary candidate’s savings and contributions from friends, supporters and followers of the party.

“The unprecedented victory of the NDC and its parliamentary candidate in the constituency was due to many-sided variables. Our candidate, the Hon. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia had distinguished himself in an honorable fashion throughout the campaign period. He has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he wants to build Navrongo through unity and strength. He indicated that he knew the people and that the people knew him; he identified favorably with the people and he was that “local boy” that everyone wanted to associate with, including many NPP sympathizers.

The NDC went on to say that the allegations were spreading to save the leaders of some notable NPP figures who had failed to mend party cracks. He warned the NPP to refrain from involving the NDC in its internal feuds.

“The campaign activities of the NDC were financed by the savings of the parliamentary candidate and contributions from friends, supporters and followers of the party.

If the so-called “huge cash donation” could win the election, then the Hon. Tangoba Abayage would have been the winner of this election. The extravagance and opulence of the Hon. Tangoba was visible in every part of the constituency. People have been forced to choose loans whether they need them or not. The loans were granted without being requested and were paid for through the mobile money payment system. Goodies, including Pickup vehicles and motorcycles, were shared with impunity. It is evident that on Special Voting Day and Election Day, potential voters were invited to vote for the Hon. Tangoba and take a snapshot for an amount ranging from 300 Ghc to 100 Ghc.

“We can understand that all of these baseless allegations are orchestrated to save the heads of some key figures within the Hon’s camp. Tangoba who failed miserably as duty bearers to maintain unity in the party. We would, however, like them to keep the formidable and indomitable NDC out of their internal party bickering.

The unprecedented victory of the NDC and its parliamentary candidate in the constituency was due to multifaceted variables. Our candidate, the Hon. Sampson Tangombu Chiragia had distinguished himself in an honorable fashion throughout the campaign period. He has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that he wishes to build Navrongo through unity and courage. He indicated that he knew the people and that the people knew him; he identified favorably with people and he was that “local boy” that everyone wanted to associate with, including many NPP sympathizers.

It is ridiculous to associate your excruciating defeat with the Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda when the Hon. Tangoba performed appallingly in the backyards of the Constituency President, the Constituency Vice President, the Chief of the Municipal Executive, the Constituency Treasurer and at the home of the parliamentary candidate – the Hon. Tangoba where she voted. NDC won with a landslide at all polling stations in Namolo, Adabayire, Nogsenia. Cumulatively, the NDC won in Pungu and even behaved honorably in Nimbasenia to everyone’s admiration.

It is also laughable and distorted logic to state in their shaky press conference that the Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda supported all of the opposition candidates – the PPP candidate and the NDC candidate. If he really supported a different candidate with the sole mission of bringing about the defeat of the Hon. Tangoba, then He should have channeled all his arsenals towards one of the candidates and not two opposition candidates simultaneously ”.

The defeat of the Hon. Tangoba was due to a leadership crisis within the NPP in the constituency and a lack of a well-planned strategy for the 2020 general election. Key figures played the role of the party infantryman and serial callers instead of act as leaders. While the NDC candidate and his team were on the ground selling the People’s Manifesto message, the NPP candidate and his team were on Facebook “slaughtering”. While the NPP candidate focused on women, the NDC focused on everyone in Navrongo.

As much as we would appreciate if the NPP would stay in opposition forever, we would need them to stay united to offer us constructive criticism so that we can better provide the necessary development in Navrongo. As such, we urge them to sit down and take a sober reflection of the gargantuan defeat and enact solutions to the disunity and fragmentation within their party so that they can offer us strong opposition in 2024 even if the victory of the NDC is imminent.