NPP Primaries: Kwesimintsim polling station executives root for NaCCA boss

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Some 87 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Polling Station Executives in the Kwesimintsim Constituency have openly endorsed the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), Dr. Prince Hamid Armah, ahead of the party’s upcoming parliamentary primaries.

The endorsement, which comes even before Dr. Armah’s own declaration of intention to contest in the primaries, was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday February 4, 2020.

All 87 Polling Station Executives signed the statement. The endorsement bodes well for the challenger’s bid, showing broad support from delegates even before active campaigning commences. A little over four hundred delegates are expected to vote in the 25th April primary in the constituency.

According to the executives, they arrived at the decision after diligently assessing the performance and track record of Dr. Armah and that of the incumbent Member of Parliament of the Kwesimintsim, Mr. Joe Mensah.

They said Dr. Armah stands tall in all categories of comparison, adding that he is the best option with the potential to champion and alleviate the plight of the constituency.

Below is the full statement:

On April 25th, 2020, the New Patriotic Party will be going to the polls to elect is parliamentary candidates for the general elections in December. This provides its elected officials around the country with a solemn opportunity to shape not just the party but the next parliament that will deliberate on the affairs of the nation. It behoves every constituency to thus select the most capable and competent officials who can undertake this all important national assignment. In a democratic polity, power is meant to be used on behalf of the people and for their ultimate benefit. As citizens, we go to the polls once every four years to select our leaders with the hope and assurance that they will use the power we cede to them to better our lives and secure our future. When this cannot be guaranteed, the democratic exercise is rendered useless and even weakened and undermined. This is why we vote.

For us in Kwesimintsim NPP, it is a task we take very seriously. We believe that our electoral fortunes in the general elections hinges on the quality of candidate that we present. We believe that we must assess our options very carefully in order to present the best possible choice. And we believe that every election presents us a choice to influence not just the next four years but indeed, the next generation. The quality of leadership that we have is critical for our social and economic well-being, our security and indeed, the future of our children.

The candidate we present, and ultimately choose us as our Member of Parliament, must embody the aspirational values that we have as a community. He or she must have proven through personal endeavour, his competence and ability to lead and deliver. He or she must be someone with a voice and national profile that will enable him to eloquently plead our case for development. He or she must have a broad social and professional network that he can tap into to leverage investment and development into the constituency. He or she must demonstrate an understanding of the community and its challenges and shown the desire and ability to help resolve them. He or she must be a unifying force that brings us together behind a common cause.

Having assured ourselves of the necessity of these qualities, we have assessed the options available to us the delegates of the Kwesimintsim Constituency, to find the person who best fits the bill. We have looked at what they have done for themselves and what they have done for Kwesimintsim. We have studied their character and assessed their history. We have considered their service to the party and the sacrifices they have made for it. And we have also estimated the potential they have to rise and bring Kwesimintsim along with them.

After assessing all our choices, including our incumbent Member of Parliament, we the undersigned, all of which are delegates of Kwesimintsim NPP, have decided firmly and enthusiastically that the best choice we have at the moment is Dr Prince Hamid Armah, currently the Executive Secretary of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.

Dr Armah is no stranger to this party. In fact, even as a young man, he worked for the NPP, serving as one of its two secondary schools coordinators in the Western Region. He was a leader in the Tertiary Students Confederacy in his days at the University of Education, Winneba, contributing to the party’s first ever victory in the Efutu constituency. He has served as TESCON Secretary, Constituency Youth Secretary, twice as party polling agent and a member of the regional communications team of the party. In 2008, he served as Secretary of the Communications Committee for Honourable Papa Owusu-Ankomah and contested for Western Regional Youth Organizer in 2009. This is the pedigree of Dr Armah, a true party man who understands what the grassroots need.

Dr Armah’s competence, commitment and compassion are not in doubt. Born right here in this constituency, he has through hard work and perseverance, risen to the very heights of academic achievement, attaining laurels not just in Ghana but in the United Kingdom where he travelled for further studies. Since returning to Ghana, electing to serve his country instead of remaining abroad, he has been a passionate advocate for education and education reforms, culminating in his appointment by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to lead NaCCA and drive the critical education reforms that will give full meaning to the President’s education agenda. In this sensitive and critical position, Dr. Armah has performed excellently and gained the admiration of many Ghanaians for his proactive and progressive leadership. He has made Kwesimintsim proud and we have no doubt that as our MP, he will continue to do so.

We have Dr. Armah’ numerous contributions to the community. At the height of the security challenges that we had, it was Dr. Armah who donated a number of motorbikes to the local police command to assist them in their fight against crime. It was Dr. Armah who provided the Effia-Kwesimintsim Education Directorate with office supplies to enable them run smoothly. Nearly every child in this constituency from first to second cycle institutions, whether they are in private or public schools, has benefited from his mammoth donation of over twenty-three thousand books. We cannot forget the efforts he makes in private to assist those of us in need, when he can. All of this point to someone who has the compassionate spirit that is necessary for effective leadership. If he can do all these things as a private citizen, imagine how much more he would do as our elected representative.

All who have interacted with Dr. Armah will attest to his conciliatory nature, his warmth and his humility. In fact, he is very approachable and always tries to make check on party members who are ill or bereaved. He has never been seen as someone who rejects anyone on any grounds. He is clearly the unifier we need to bring this party together, after the divisions that we have seen, especially within the last four years.

We, the undersigned have every confidence in Dr. Prince Armah. We believe he will bring us together because he is by nature a unifier. We believe he will be a competent representative because he has proven it in his professional life. We believe he will be an eloquent and committed advocate for the constituency because that is in fact what he is doing already. And we believe that he will not turn his back on us the grassroots of the party because he is one of us.

We are therefore pledging our full and unalloyed support to the candidature of Dr. Prince Hamid Armah. We are going to work for his victory in the primary and general elections. We will carry his message of hope, unity and development to every corner of this constituency. We will not rest or waver because we know without a doubt that his victory will be our victory. We are so confident in the abilities of Dr. Armah that we have raised from among ourselves the full amounts needed to pay the nomination and filing fees, which we will make available to Dr Armah in support of his bid.
And we call all other polling station executives in the constituency to join this movement to rescue Kwesimintsim, to restore it to a position of glory and to make a better life for everyone in the constituency.

Endorsed by the Following Polling Station Executives in the Kwesimintsim Constituency:
Reindolf Sarkodie (Assakae New Town)
Asiljoe Augustine (Race Course)
Isaac Adjei Bonsu ( Anaji East)
Ebenezer Forson( Anaji East)
Eric Ennin (Sofon Zongo)
Suzzy Quarshie (Apremdo)
Kingsley Donkor (Apollo Dupaul)
Paul Ocran (Adientiem)
Kwame Dum (Whindo)
Joshua Arthur (European Town/ Promise Land)
Daniel Kwofie (Assakae)
Charles Oppong (Sofon Zongo)
John Bosco Quaidoo (Sabon Zongo)
Grace Mensah (Sabon Zongo)
Eric Nuamah (Kwesimintsim)
Elizabeth Koomson (Anaji West)
Albert K. Hammond (Anaji West)
Issac Adjei Bonsu (Anaji East)
Godfrey Nyanny (Anaji East)
Kelvin Ofosu (Anaji East)
George Yaw Mensah (Anaji East)
Louis Ralph Oko Tagoe (Anaji East)
Esther Quayson (Anaji East)
Augustine Agyeman Bonsu (Anaji East)
Joseph De-Graft Smith (Anaji East)
Felicity Cobbinah (Anaji East)
Stephen Essien (Anaji East)
Belinda Blay (Anaji West)
Edward Obeng (Anaji West)
Philimon Obeng (Anaji West)
Stephen Awan (Anaji West)
Joseph Badu Bossman (Anaji West)
Thomas Ward (Anaji West)
Rose Ackah (Anaji West)
Kwesi Okyere Adokoh (Anaji West)
Elizabeth Awotwe (Kwesimintsim)
Nathaniel Mintah (Kwesimintsim)
Dorcas Acquah (Kwesimintsim)
Stephen Larbi (Kwesimintsim)
Sandra Owusu (Kwesimintsim)
Emmanuel Adjei (Kwesimintsim)
Patrick Adjei (Kwesimintsim)
Simon Acquah (Kwesimintsim)
Cecilia Nti (Sabon Zongo)
Isaac Opoku (Sabon Zongo)
Williams Benyin (Sabon Zongo)
Vivian Adu (Sabon Zongo)
Stephen Ayim (Sabon Zongo)
Eric Kobina Eshun (Sabon Zongo)
Victor Yaw Atsu (Sabon Zongo)
George Ken Baidoo (Sabon Zongo)
Kingsley Tandoh (Sofon Zongo)
Stephen Arthur (Sofon Zongo)
Ebenezer Tandoh (Sofon Zongo)
Joyce Amoah (Sofon Zongo)
Grace Asamoah (Assakae)
Gifty Cudjoe (Assakae)
Emmanuel Pobee (Assakae)
Abraham Ackon (Assakae)
Eric Quaicoe (European Town)
Issac Miezah (European Town)
Mary Ampong (European Town)
Prince Gabriel Gyansah (European Town)
Andrews Koomson (Whindo)
Martha Asamoah (Whindo)
George Ofori Atta (Whindo)
Anthony Hyde Dadzie (Whindo)
Matilda Nketsiah (Adientiem)
Evelyn Komson (Adientiem)
Emmanuel Acquah (Adientiem)
John Kojo Benson (Adientiem)
Blessed Ebo Appiah (Assakae New Town)
Albert Hughes (Assakae New Town)
Farouk Umar Yahaya (Assakae New Town)
Hawa Paintsil (Assakae New Town)
Esther Sannie (Apremdo)
Mary Iddrisu (Apremdo)
Vincent Afari (Apremdo)
Anna Kwofie (Apremdo)
Michael Akomeah (Race Course)
Faustina Cudjoe (Race Course)
Ezekiel Boamah (Race Course)
Margaret Sarpong( Race Course)
Joseph Essien (Apollo Dupaul)
Federico Ansah (Apollo Dupaul)
Sandra Opare Ansah (Apollo Dupaul)
Hannah Osei Ankrah (Apollo Dupaul)

Source: Daily Mail GH