Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South
The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South and former Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, has stated that contentions over the appointments of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) are not new.
He, however, assures that these issued would be resolved.
Speaking to agitations over some appointments made by President John Dramani Mahama, while speaking in an interview on Channel One TV on April 24, 2025, Vanderpuije explained that the reactions are expected.
According to him, all candidates have their followers and hence they would ordinarily want to push for the interests of their preferred candidate.
“Well, you know, these are situations where people have supporters. People have preferred candidates and whenever the decision is made, it is not one that will satisfy everybody.
“Every jurisdiction where people have been nominated, there was never one candidate – there was always at least two, three or four candidates. So, when the final decision is made, by all means, there’re some members of the same party who will say that no, they don’t agree to this or that. All politics are local and people will say things according to the jurisdiction or constituency they find themselves. So, this is not unusual,” he said.
Reacting to the case of Ebi Bright being appointed Mayor of Tema, he indicated that the Tema residents deserved to be heard on the matter.
“You see, that is what the people are saying – they’re the local people. They live in the locality and they say this person is not one of us. So, you have to listen to them, but I’m sure the committee considered all these factors before coming up with the nomination.
“It’s hard for me to say that they don’t have a valid concern but I’m sure they listened to all these things before making the determination. So, we live to see where the appeal will go, but it’s not an easy process,” he added.
The former Accra Mayor, however, assured that the issues surrounding the appointment of MMDCEs will be amicably resolved for the party to go about its duties.
“This is not the first time we have encountered such agitations. We shall overcome – at the end, it shall be well. We shall overcome for us to proceed with the work the party has at hand,” he said.
VPO/AE
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