Achuliwor Threatens To Sue NPP

A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region, Mr. Abdalla Otito Achuliwor has threatened to drag the party to court if the National Executive Council election held in the region recently was not reversed by Friday, June 4, 2014. Mr. Abdalla Otito Achuliwor, who picked nomination forms, could not meet the deadline for the submission of completed forms and has, therefore, vented his fury on the party�s Regional Chairman, Mr. Adam Mahama, for allegedly manipulating the process in favour of his favourate candidates. The NPP, on Sunday June 29, held NEC election in which representatives were picked from each region to represent their respective regions at the national level. In the Upper East Region, delegates from the 15 constituencies converged at Navrongo and confirmed Mr. Rockson Ayine Bukari, former Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga, Joseph Kofi Adda, former MP for Navrongo Central and Energy minister in the erstwhile NPP administration, and a party elder, Sulley Yirimea, to represent them at the National Executive Council. The Electoral Commission did not organize polls because the fourth person, Abdalla Otito Achuliwor, who picked a form, could not submit it even after the deadline. But after his failed attempt to get into the race, Mr. Achuliwor on Monday held a press conference in Bolgatanga and alleged there were deliberate attempts by the Regional Executive led by the Regional Chairman, Mr. Adams Mahama, to disqualify all others who had interest in the race in order to make things easy for the three. According to him, there was no announcement for interested persons to pick nomination forms and when he heard of the event from some party members, he rushed from Accra to Bolgatanga for the form on Thursday, June 26. He said he obtained the nomination forms on Friday June 27, at about 11:00 am and was told to return the forms at 5:00 pm same day. Mr. Achuliwor said knowing the vast nature of the region and the number of the constituencies he had to cover to get the signature of card bearing party members; he pleaded with the chairman to extend the deadline to Saturday to enable him complete the process. The time was extended from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm but that still did not mean anything to the failed aspirant. �Even if I use V8 vehicle to crisscross the entire 15 constituencies from 11:00am, there was no way I would be able to meet neither the deadline of 5:00pm nor the extra time they added. �If they had released the forms on Thursday, using Friday and Saturday to get the signatures, would have been good enough to be able to contest�. Mr. Achuliwor claimed that even before the deadline, the Regional Chairman called him on phone and told him to stop wasting his time because he was not going to win. He accused the Regional Executives of the party of displaying open bias in favour of the three persons and ignored whatever issues other people had about the elections and even unity in the party at the regional level. �At the time I was struggling alone, the Regional Executives were busily helping the three aspirants to collect their signatures�, he added. Describing the regional chairman as a boisterous and disrespectful person after assumption of office, Mr. Achuliwor also said he did not longer listen to anyone including those who sacrificed so much for the party in the Upper East region. He has, therefore, called on the national executive to annul the confirmation of the three persons or he took the party to court by Friday, July 4, 2014. Meanwhile, the regional chairman, Mr. Mahama, has told this reporter in an interview that he did nothing wrong. According to him it was regrettable Mr. Achuliwor chose to hold a news conference to raise internal party matters when he could have used internal party mechanisms to seek readdress. He explained that when Mr. Achuliwor picked up the nomination forms, it was on the noticeboard at the party�s office that the deadline was 5:00 pm on Friday. He said when Mr. Achuliwor picked up the forms and left, he called the following morning � Friday, and pleaded for extension of time because he could not get the required number of signatures. Mr. Mahama said he gave him up to 7:00 p.m to submit his forms but he failed to do so, but only called him on phone at about 9:00p.m requesting to meet him (chairman). The chairman said he went with his financial secretary and when they met Mr. Achuliwor, he explained that he had only 7 instead of 15. �I told him that it�s an inside contest. So you don�t worry, let me have your picture so that I can add it to the other three contestants and I will start printing the ballots. So you send the forms, Saturday, still go round, get me the other signatories and come I will take it. Then this man pulled out a letter and gave it to me and was pleading that if we can postpone the election to next week Wednesday,� he said.