The Women’s Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency, Samira Sulemana Saabey, has slammed her deputy, Patience Quaye, for openly endorsing the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Sarah Adwoa Safo.
In a press conference, Ms Saabey said Ms Quaye’s action was shameless and disloyal to the party and its parliamentary candidate, Elikplim Akurugu. She accused Ms Quaye of having a personal animosity towards Ms Akurugu, who won the NDC primaries for the second time in May 2023.
Ms Saabey said Ms Quaye’s endorsement of Ms Safo, who was sacked as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in July 2022, was an insult to the NDC and its supporters. She said Ms Safo had failed to deliver on her promises to the constituents and had been absent from parliament and her ministry for several months.
She called on the party leadership to condemn Ms Quaye’s behaviour and take appropriate disciplinary actions against her and anyone who goes against the party’s guidelines. She also urged the NDC members and sympathizers to remain united and focused on campaigning for Ms Akurugu to snatch the seat from the NPP in the 2024 general elections.
Ms Akurugu is a businesswoman and holds an MPhil in Guidance and Counselling from the Methodist University College, Accra. She is confident of winning the Dome-Kwabenya seat, which has been held by the NPP since 2004. She said she had a better vision and agenda for the development of the constituency than Ms Safo.
Ms Safo, who is the daughter of Ghanaian industrialist and pastor, Apostle Kwadwo Safo, has been the MP for Dome-Kwabenya since 2013. She was appointed as the Minister of State in charge of Government Procurement in 2017 and later as the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in 2021. However, she was dismissed by President Nana Akufo-Addo after she was accused of being absent from her duties and posting videos of herself singing and dancing on TikTok.
The Dome-Kwabenya constituency is one of the hotly contested seats in the Greater Accra Region, as the NDC and the NPP vie for the votes of the urban and suburban dwellers. The constituency has a population of about 200,000 and is home to several educational and research institutions, such as the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, the University of Ghana, and the University of Professional Studies.
Ms Saabey said the NDC was optimistic of winning the seat for the first time, as the party had increased its support base in the constituency over the years. She said the NDC’s presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama, who won the flag bearer race with 98.9% of the votes, had a better track record and policies than the NPP’s candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. She said the NDC would work hard to restore hope and prosperity to the people of Ghana.
Source: Modern Ghana
