Prez Mahama to sanction appointees complicit in Ayawaso East vote-buying allegations
President John Dramani Mahama is expected to sanction government appointees implicated in vote-buying allegations during the February 7 Ayawaso East NDC parliamentary primary, NDC General Secretary Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey has revealed.
According to him, the party’s leadership will insist that all officials involved receive similar disciplinary measures as applied to the recalled High Commissioner to Nigeria Baba Jamal.
Speaking to the media Tuesday, February 10, following the presentation of the investigative committee’s report, Fiifi Kwetey emphasized the party’s commitment to upholding ethical standards, stating that any political appointee found to have engaged in vote-buying must face consequences in line with the party’s code of ethics.
“We also want to urge the President, apart from Baba Jamal, we think two other candidates are also in positions of appointment on various boards, similar measures should be taken against them as well, to just show that we as a party feel that anyone who was involved in this inappropriate conduct has to be punished once they are appointed by the party,” he said. “This has to do with the code of ethics as far as the government is concerned, as far as the party is concerned.”
Despite finding evidence of inappropriate conduct during the February 7 primary, the NDC has decided to proceed with Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed as its candidate for the March 3 by-election, following his win on February 7, albeit at the center of several voter inducement allegations.
The decision to retain Jamal comes despite a three-member investigative committee recommending cancellation of the results. However, Fiifi Kwetey explained that the party faces several challenges that makes a re-run impractical.
“Given the constraint of time, we clearly have no option but to simply go ahead with the result that we saw because there’s no way we can change the result, we cannot elect a candidate tomorrow, so we are compelled to go with Baba Jamal,” he stated. “Ideally, we would have had to annul it, but we simply cannot do because of the real time and also constitutional obstacles.”
The General Secretary outlined several factors that prevent the party from a recommended re-run, explaining that the Electoral Commission is set to close nominations for the by-election today, February 11, leaving no time to organize a fresh primary.
“The committee’s report is that ideally, we should have an annulment of the primary. However, the committee acknowledges that there are real obstacles that make it difficult for us to do that,” Fiifi Kwetey explained. “The party’s constitution doesn’t have a provision for annulment of the election.”
Allegations against Jamal include distributing 32-inch television sets, motorbikes, and cash payments to delegates on the day of the election, with several videos in circulation showing constituents carrying home the said TV sets.
“People who know me know that I give things generously. What is wrong if you give people TVs? If somebody gives you a gift, you have to take it, but what is wrong is when you allow that gift to influence your vote.” He defended his actions on February.
In response to the scandal, the NDC announced plans to expand the investigative committee from three to seven members to conduct a comprehensive review of the party’s internal election processes.
“We’re going to do a comprehensive review of the whole process that led to our internal elections,” Fiifi Kwetey disclosed. “We’re expanding the committee by adding four more members, to make it a 7-member committee, so that they can come out with recommendations to deal with this inappropriate canker as far as the elections are concerned.”
“We are warning everybody that in the future, if this thing happens, we will punish the people well, we can even cancel the elections,” he warned in an earlier statement.
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