Posted: The Chronicle | Friday, May 08, 2009
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The election of both Metropolitan Chief Executives (MCE) and Presiding Member (PM) for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) yesterday did not go without an event.
Though the President’s nominee for the position MCE, Mr. Afred Okoe Vanderpuije, sailed through by polling 86 out of the total of 88 votes cast, the beauty of the programme was nearly marred by three events: one between the Assembly Member for Chorkor, Derrick Myers popularly referred to as ‘Showman’ and the Assembly Member for Dansoman, Comfort Awinya, another involving Braimah Kamoko, a boxer popularly known as Bukom Banku, and the third between the Assembly Member for Nii Boi Town and a cameraman of Ghana Television (GTV).
This was in the heat of the first round of the election of the Presiding Member, which virtually ended in a deadlock, due to the inability of both Professor Nii Ayaa Armah and Desmond Addo Biney, to secure the needed votes to carry the day.
In the first round of the elections, Biney, who is the substantive Assembly Member for East-Legon, polled 57, whilst Prof. Armah, who is a government appointee, secured 30 out of the 88 votes cast. The Electoral Commission, Nana Oduro Numapau, could not declare any of them the clear winner.
In the process, some of them started pointing accusing fingers at some of their colleagues, whom they suspected to be members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), for blocking the chance of their preferred candidate, in the person of Biney.
The Chorkor Assembly Member made an open statement, which sought to indict those he suspected of being members of the NPP, of blocking the chance of Biney, who they considered as one of them in the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
This attracted stinky comments from some members on the floor, including the Member for Dansoman.
The comment brought a heated argument between the two honourable members.
Though they were separated by those present, ‘Showman,’ who had lost his temper, threw caution and decency to the winds and managed to steal a jab at his colleague Member for Dansoman, attracting the attention of all the dignitaries present.
Another Assembly Member also attacked a cameraman of Ghana Television (GTV) who was filming the scuffle between the two assembly members.
The burly-looking man was later identified as Ako Gunns, the Assembly Member for Nii Boi Town.
Considering the tension and events that characterised the election process, with some members openly showing their ballot papers to the crowd, Professor Armah decided to withdraw his nomination and throw his weight behind Biney in the interest of the Assembly.
Biney thus managed to poll 73 of the 88 votes cast in the second round, thereby making him the Presiding Member.
Earlier on, ace boxer and Light heavy-weight champion of Africa, Braimah Kamoko popularly referred to as ‘Bukom Banku,’ created an ugly scene at the premises of the Assembly, when he virtually stripped himself naked.
His reason was that he had seen some people he claimed were members of the opposition NPP wearing T-shirts of Mr. Vanderpuije, when people like himself, who owe allegiance to the NDC, did not have any.
Not even the pleadings of the security guards and the women present could prevent him from causing a scene, as he moved up and down chanting and insulting the organizers of the event, with tonnes of foul and filthy language.
Most of those present, especially the journalists, were extremely surprised at the attitude of the ‘celebrity,’ since he virtually stripped to his pants, leaving his bare chest.
His pants/trousers were virtually falling apart, with his briefs showing in the full glare of the huge crowd.
All this while, some of his fans followed him and cheered him up, supporting his bid to cause confusion at the event venue.
When he was later brought under control, the Banku-man cursed the NDC, saying that they would suffer.
This, he said, was because the NDC was giving him and his colleagues reason to believe that they had suffered in vain, thereby relegating them to the background.
The Presiding Member and the newly-elected City Mayor, Desmond Addo Biney and Alfred Vanderpuije respectively, asked their supporters and members of the Assembly to help to move forward.
The event was presided over by the Cordinating Director of the AMA, T. I. Adjovu, while Justice Abodakpi took the elected officers through the oath of office. Present at the function were high-ranking members of the NDC, including the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashittey, Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodioo, Nii Tackie Kommey, MP for Ablekuma-south, Fritz Baffour and Director of the Regional Coordinating Council F.A.T.S Nartey.
The rest included Jerry Acquaye Thompson, Sylvester Mensah, and the NPP MP for Okaikoi-north, Elizabeth Sackey.