The District Chief Executive Officer (DCE) for Asante Akim North, Daniel Osei, has come under serious attack from some assembly members, who are accusing him of engaging in active campaigning at the expense of official duty.
Even before the whistle is blown for the official commencement of serious political campaigning, the DCE is said to have peaked with active campaigning, in his quest to win the constituency seat on the ticket of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Chronicle�s investigations revealed that the ambition of Daniel Osei to become a legislator has already begun in earnest, with his campaign posters flooding the various communities within the district. With the ruling party also yet to officially open nominations for prospective candidates to participate in constituency primaries, leading to the selection of parliamentary candidates, the DCE is said to be already enjoying a jolly ride by actively pushing his bid to enter the august house by 2017.
With his portrait boldly embossed on posters with the inscriptions �VOTE VICTORY 2016, A BETTER GHANA AGENDA� �Daniel Osei, as Member of Parliament for the Asante Akim North Constituency,� the DCE appears to have one eye already fixed on entering Parliament and becoming a legislator, to the neglect of serious developmental challenges within the district. He is being accused by opponents and some assembly members of abuse of office and covertly politicising his administration, rather than focusing on helping the district to overcome the myriad of development challenges facing the constituents.
The DCE�s actions have been interpreted as a direct sabotage of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for the constituency, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, just to enhance his bid to win the seat for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). Already, some assembly members have started raising concerns about the behaviour of the DCE, warning that his action could have serious repercussions on the political discourse in the constituency, and also affect the development of the district.
The Assembly Member for Agogo New Town Electoral Area, Kwaku Atta, lamented to the paper that the DCE�s decision to engage in active campaigning, barely three years before elections, could have serious consequences for the district. According to him, the DCE, by inference, is trying to politicise his office, a situation which he said, was in contravention of the local government and the decentralisation policy. Kwaku Atta cautioned that members of the assembly would not sit down unconcerned and allow the DCE to turn the office into a political one.
�I will be surprised if the DCE is behind this move, because it will be suicidal for his administration. We, as assembly members, have decided to put aside our political affiliation and help develop the district, but if he decides to play politics with it, then we will have no choice, but to respond in [a] similar manner, after all, the opposition commands the chunk of the number in the house,� he warned. Meanwhile, the DCE has admitted the existence of posters, but said he was yet to set eyes on one.
He said he had received several phone calls from loved ones, informing him about his posters in town, but denied categorically that he had anything to do with it. Daniel Osei told the paper in a telephone interview that he had not personally seen the posters and has nothing to do with it, promising, however, to investigate and find out the people behind the move.
�Someone told me he has seen one at a barbering shop, I am yet to see it though, but I have decided to call the shop and find out, right now, I am in Accra, but when I come back, I will definitely look into it,� he stated.