FLASHBACK: Reject Akufo-Addo’s appointment – Ben Ephson counsels Fomena MP

According to Ben Ephson, even at the point when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sacked Andrew Amoako Asiamah, he still stayed loyal to his party yet the NPP ignored him and rejected him hence it would be advisable to dissociate himself from them in Parliament.

Mr. Amoako Asiamah the MP for Fomena Constituency in the Ashanti Region and a member of the NPP was dismissed by the party from Parliament but successfully sailed through to secure a win in the 2020 elections as an independent candidate.

“If the Fomena independent candidate were to be my friend, I would ask him not to accept any ministerial post," he told Kwame Adinkra the host of the show.

Explaining his reasons for his advice, Ben Ephson noted that “even before, I appreciated his loyalty to the party. He said if you have sacked me from the party I’m still part of it”, yet the party didn’t accept him.

Read the full original story as first published on GhanaWeb but sourced from Mynewsgh on December 14, 2020, below:

Pollster and Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch Newspaper Mr. Benjamin Emmanuel Ephson has asked independent Fomena Member of Parliament(MP)-elect not to accept any post from his party NPP in their next government which commences in 2021.

According to Ben Ephson, even at the point when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) sacked Mr. Andrew Amoako Asiamah, he still stayed loyal to his party yet the NPP ignored him and rejected him hence it would be advisable to dissociate himself from them in Parliament.

Mr. Amoako Asiamah the MP for Fomena Constituency in the Ashanti Region and a member of the NPP was dismissed by the party from Parliament but successfully sailed through to secure a win in the 2020 elections as an independent candidate.

Mr. Asiamah who decided to run independently after he failed to file his nomination to contest the party’s parliamentary primaries also had his seat declared vacant in Parliament.

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in one of his campaign tours to the area said he cannot work with an independent candidate in his government encouraging the people of Fomena to vote against Mr. Asiamah if he decides to go independent.

However, at the end of polls on Monday, December 7, 2020, Mr. Asiamah managed to obtain 12,805 to win back his seat.

It has since become very critical after the elections for the NPP to have the sacked Fomena MP on their side to form a clear majority in Parliament to have smooth governance.

In the eighth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, out of the total 275 seats, the opposition NDC managed to pull 136, the NPP with 137 whiles Mr. Asiamah managed to win as the only independent candidate.

Some seats of the NPP are still being challenged by the NDC as they claim the Electoral Commission rigged in favour of the ruling NPP.

However, speaking on Angel FM Accra in an interview monitored by MyNewsGH.com, Mr. Ben Ephson insisted that, it would be to the advantage of the sacked Fomena MP to remain independent than to join the NPP.

“If the Fomena independent candidate were to be my friend, I would ask him not to accept any ministerial post," he told Kwame Adinkra the host of the show.

Explaining his reasons for his advice, Ben Ephson noted that “even before, I appreciated his loyalty to the party. He said if you have sacked me from the party I’m still part of it”, yet the party didn’t accept him.

According to the pollster, in a tight situation in Parliament, the NDC will drop something in his (Mr. Asiamah) account if he should reject an appointment from the Akufo-Addo led government adding that, such a move would be more beneficial than being a minister.

“The party abandoned him and he has shown something that I think has always been wrong with the NPP especially in their safe seat. I like his political courage” Ben Ephson noted.