In the days leading to the NPP’s parliamentary primaries on June 20, 2020, Joseph Kofi Adda, the ousted Navrongo Central MP, told his contender, the Upper East Regional Minister, that she only visits Navrongo to drink beer.
Ada, who is the current Aviation Minister, spoke on Daybreak Upper East in January.
But results from the party’s parliamentary primary reveal he lost his nomination to Madam Tangoba Abayage, the Upper East Regional Minister, by 307 to 266 votes.
Mr Adda, who has served as the MP for Navrongo Central for 12 years, stated that the delegates were willing to give him another mandate but his constituency executives, who he described as “greedy”, were trying to stop that from happening.
Kofi Ada was confident that with the help of some few constituency executives, he was going to win in Saturday’s polls.
“There is no pressure from anywhere for me not to contest, my constituents are telling me to contest. On the contrary, I’ve gone round my polling stations and they are all so excited [about] me contesting and I will not let it go because there is a lot we have to do,” he said at the time.
To the Regional Minister who was contesting him, Ada said: “My message to her is that, it is not the right time for her, I’ve not seen her do any serious party work in Navrongo throughout all the time I’ve been an MP… Nana Akufo Addo comes, she comes; they go, you go… Bawumia comes, you come; they go, you go and drink beer and go”.
But Madam Tangoba Abayage on Saturday, June 20, 2020, gave Kofi Ada the shock of his life, winning by a landslide.
Please read the reference story about the drinking beer charge published by a1radioonline.com on January 22, 2020.
As the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP) is preparing for its April 2020 parliamentary primaries for constituencies with incumbent members of parliament, the political atmosphere is already getting heated up across the country.
The Upper East region which has three MPs coming from the governing party is no exception as some parliamentary candidates have hit the grounds to sell their messages to delegates in order to inform their decisions to vote for them.
Minister for Aviation and MP for Navrongo Central, Hon. Kofi Joseph Adda who is still seeking re-election after serving close to 12 years in parliament has already started taking a swipe at his contender - the Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Tangoba Abayage who has expressed interest in the seat.
Mr. Adda in an exclusive interview on Daybreak Upper East revealed how most of the delegates in his constituency were yearning to give him another mandate to contest the 2020 general elections. While describing some constituency executives as “greedy”, the MP said with the help of some few constituency executives, he was optimistic of winning without a shred of doubt.
“There is no pressure from anywhere for me not to contest, my constituents are telling me to contest on the contrary, I’ve gone round my polling stations and they are all so excited me contesting and I will not let it go because there is a lot we have to do,” he said.
When asked about the potential of Hon. Tangoba Abayage, Mr. Adda who appeared frightened by the presence of his contender, said she was not known in the constituency since she has not been involved in any active party activities hence, she will be rejected. He went further insinuated that she only goes to Navrongo to drink beer unlike him who was closer to the party and the people.
“My message to her is that, it is not the right time for her, I’ve not seen her do any serious party works in Navrongo throughout all the time I’ve been an MP… Nana Akufo Addo comes, she comes; they go, you go… Bawumia comes, you come; they go, you go and drink beer and go,” he stated.
Adda became the MP for Navrongo Central Constituency after winning the 2003 by-elections. He maintained the seat in 2004 and 2008 and lost in 2012 to NDC’s Mark Woyongo. He, however, reclaimed the seat in the 2016 general elections.
He once served in the former president John Agyekum Kufour’s administration as Minister for Energy, Minister for Manpower Development and Employment and currently serving in the Akufo Addo-led administration as the Minister for Aviation after his reshuffle from the Sanitation Ministry.
The Navrongo Central Constituency seat is one of the political hot spots in the Upper East Region where most eyes are fixed to know the outcome in the upcoming 2020 general elections.
Joseph Kofi Adda, Navrongo Central MP