Abraham Boadi, the Assembly member for Ridge Nhyiaeso widely known as “Opooman,” has claimed that partisan politics cost him significant career opportunities he enjoyed while working with former Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) boss Kojo Bonsu.
In an interview with a Kumasi-based station, Opooman said he had diplomatic privileges and travel opportunities while working under Kojo Bonsu, even though he was known as an NPP member, but he lost similar prospects after the party came to power.
He also compared the current GoldBod CEO, Sammy Gyamfi, to his younger self while working under Bonsu.
“I had a big opportunity when I was working with Kojo Bonsu. Today Sammy Gyamfi is who? GoldBod CEO. Will the NPP give me such opportunity? When I was working with Kojo Bonsu, Sammy Gyamfi was a small boy,” Opooman said.
Opooman accused senior NPP figures of plotting to unseat Bonsu and other influential NDC-aligned local leaders because party intelligence feared those leaders would deliver large vote totals in the region.
“When the party (NPP) met, their intelligence told them that if Kojo Bonsu (then KMA mayor) and others such as Yamoah Ponko, Kwame Adarkwa and Obama remained in Kumasi, the one million votes the NDC had announced would materialise or even increase their numbers in the region,” he claimed.
He said a meeting at the Noble House opposite Georgia brought together several NPP operatives to discuss the issue.
“The meeting was held at Noble House opposite Georgia; present were Freddie Blay, Dan Botwe, Nana Kofi Senya, Kwame Kwakye, myself Opooman, and Ghana Beye Yie. The agenda was that if we don’t stop those people, their one million votes will be achieved or their number will increase,” he said.
Opooman said his diplomatic passport issued while Bonsu was KMA mayor enabled travel to Germany and South Africa, and that he was due to travel to Canada for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
But he rejected the Canada trip and began plotting against them. He also recounted meeting Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who was then the opposition leader of the New Patriotic Party.
“We met Nana Addo (then opposition leader) and he said, ‘We need to get these people out. We need to get rid of them,’” Opooman recalled. “But we are not in government, our people are in government, Opooman, you people are in government.”
When the interviewer asked whether Nana Addo had urged them to plan against Bonsu and others, Opooman replied firmly: “Because if we didn’t plan against them we wouldn’t have won power in 2016.”
Opooman added that after the change in administration his diplomatic passport was not renewed.
He blamed Simon Osei-Mensah, the then Ashanti Regional Minister, saying the minister refused to renew the document.
“The passport NDC gave me under Kojo Bonsu as KMA Mayor which he got done for me in one hour and 37 minutes l’ll never forget. Simon Osei-Mensah said he won’t renew it because he has taken a decision at KMA,” Opooman said.
He explained what happened and defended his record as presiding member, insisting that regional ministers should not direct municipal or metropolitan assemblies.
“This our job as assembly members, no regional minister has a direct influence over a municipal or metropolitan assembly; their job is to monitor, evaluate and coordinate. They don’t direct us, but they wanted to direct Osei Assibey (former KMA mayor), which I insisted wouldn’t work. As far as I am the presiding member, I’ll never allow any party man to control him. That was my crime,” he added.
Source: www.Kumasimail.com
