Some delegates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Dome-Kwabenya constituency have said that they are still in love with their sitting Member of Parliament (MP), Lawyer Sarah Adwoa Safo, and would vote massively to retain her to send a strong signal to the party hierarchy.
In their view, without Adwoa Safo, the NPP would struggle to retain the seat for the party.
What is motivating them to go out in droves to vote massively to retain the former Deputy Majority Leader, they noted, is her competency which has never been questioned despite the mistakes she made last year when the party needed her most in Parliament to pass some critical government policies.
According to them, Saturday, January 27, 2024 NPP parliamentary primary in the constituency is all about legacy and trump card, two distinct features which they claim, separate the incumbent from the rest of her competitors, Mike Oquaye Jnr and Sheela Oppong Sakyi.
In an exclusive interview with The Chronicle, the delegates described Adwoa Safo as the hen that lays the golden eggs and argued that the constituency under her leadership has seen tremendous growth, especially, in the areas of road infrastructure, health, water and sanitation, education, energy (power supply), and security among many others.
They contended that Dome-Kwabenya has always got it right in choosing the best to represent them, stressing that the outcome of Saturday’s polls would not depart from the previous elections.
Not tired of re-electing Safo
“We have no time to play any try and error game. The legacy of Lawyer Sarah Adwoa Safo is there for all to see. In fact, anybody in the constituency can feel and experience it. She is already on the ground working and to me, she is our best bet for 2024. I have been in the constituency for the past 26 years and I can confidently tell you that Adwoa Safo is loved by majority of the constituents, and we, the delegates, still love her She listens to our concerns and acts upon them. That is why we are not tired of re-electing her”, Mama Gee, a delegate at Agbogba-Konongo Polling Station, told The Chronicle.
Shadrach Gyimah, a delegate at the Old Ashongman Presbyterian School, said the only candidate among the three contestants who poses a great challenge to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is Adwoa Safo
“If Adwoa Safo is to contest the seat 10 times, I will vote for her and urge others to also vote for her. If you consider our experienced MPs going out, it is incumbent on us to retain Adwoa Safo. Come to Abokobi-Boye, and you will see heavy-duty machines and / or equipment fixing our road network. You can also see so many public health infrastructure around us. All these had to do with someone who has a very good lobbying skill. So, for me, no Adwoa Safo no vote”, he noted.
No legacy
Commenting further, Gyimah noted that none of the candidates contesting Adwoa Safo has any legacy project to pinpoint to, a key factor, which he added, plays a big role in such a contest.
“The other candidates have no legacy project in the constituency to convince us to vote for them despite having been appointed to occupy various positions in government. We want to set a record this year by demonstrating our special love to Adwoa Safo by voting massively for her. This will send a signal to our big men that without Adwoa Safo, Dome-Kwabenya will struggle to garner the much-needed votes to assist in breaking the eight-year governance cycle”, he stressed.
While the lawmaker was away in the United States of America attending to family matters, the constituency voter’s album for the election of polling station executives and electoral area coordinators were compiled.
625 delegates said to be aligned to the vision of Adwoa Safo, a former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, were allegedly removed from the album with perceived followers of a particular candidate, replacing them. The constituency has 1,807 delegates.
Many have since accused the constituency executives of working in favour of a particular candidate. The executives have since denied working in the interest of a particular candidate.
Responding to the issue, Gyimah noted that the ‘mischief’ that the new voter’s album had sought to create had been cured with the good message of Adwoa Safo that seeks to economically empower the constituents.
Dependable candidate
Nana Nkrumah, also a delegate at Zonal Council Polling Station, on his part told The Chronicle that his assessment of the three candidates singled out Adwoa Safo as someone who the NPP can heavily rely on to retain the seat for the party.
“There is only one person who stands tall among the rest. That person is Adwoa Safo, who has proven to be a dependable candidate. In terms of competency, track-record and one who has demonstrated or proven with a track-record is Hon. Adwoa Safo. She took over from Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye with 35,000 votes. Today, she is around 75,000 votes. She appeals to all members of the various political parties in the constituency, which is her major strength”, he said.