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THE BRONG Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, seems to have abandoned and betrayed the Asunafo South District, where he currently serves as the Acting District Chief Executive, following his desire to get out of a lawsuit against the assembly and its frontline officials. The assembly is presently facing a court case in which the District Coordinating Director (DCD), Sarpong Siaw; the DCE nominee, Atta Bosompim and the regional minister have been hauled before a Sunyani High Court by an assemblyman who has suffered incessant assaults and threats on his life and that of other assembly members, as a result of the assembly�s unsuccessful attempts to endorse the president�s nominee for the DCE position. The Assemblyman, Abdulai Donkor, has placed a perpetual injunction on the election to confirm the new DCE until the assembly officials follow due process. Strangely, however, Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo yesterday pleaded with the presiding judge, Justice F.K. Opoku, to take him out of the legal suit. Counsel for Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo, Otu-Essel, has filed a motion to dismiss the court action against the minister at the Attorney-General�s Office. However, as at court sitting on Thursday, the said motion had not been served on the counsel for the complainant, Kwaku Asoma-Cheremeh. Mr. Asoma-Cheremeh told DAILY GUIDE that his client sued the assembly, together with the regional minister, because he [regional minister] had been authorized by President Mills to take charge of the district as Ag DCE following the dismissal of the former DCE, Fleance Danso. He said Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo could therefore not run away from the suit. Mr. Asoma-Cheremeh said the assembly had breached the Model Standing Orders procedure under Section 186 of the Local Government Act 462 (1993) in its attempt to elect the DCE. Under the Act, it is only the Presiding Member (PM) who has the authority to convene and preside over the meetings of the assembly and perform any other functions prescribed by law. However, the DCD issued a circular to all the assembly members, informing them to come for a meeting to confirm the DCE. This, he said, was an illegality that a section of the assembly members were not ready to condone, hence the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the court has adjourned sitting to Monday, May 23, contrary to the plea of the counsel for the Electoral Commission to push the sitting to a date in June. Justice Opoku indicated that he wanted to deal with the case expeditiously deal and would therefore not allow unnecessary adjournments, saying that the assembly had little time to execute its mandate because two years had already passed by. He wondered why violence had engulfed activities at the assembly and advised the parties to come to a compromise for the sake of the district. The president�s nominee, Atta Bosompim, was seen riding in an Information Service Department (ISD) vehicle even though he has not gotten the nod of the assembly members to assume office. Our investigations revealed that the ISD vehicle had been turned into an official vehicle of the DCE as the assembly�s official vehicle had broken down. This practice allegedly started during the tenure of Fleance Danso, the dismissed DCE. After five consecutive attempts to elect a PM had failed, officials of the assembly, against the law, held two unsuccessful elections to endorse the nominee of the president. Some 16 assembly members who tried to protect the law became objects of attack as macho men allegedly hired by NDC officials assaulted them during assembly meetings.