By Gifty Boateng
A former Member of Parliament (MP) for the Kwadaso constituency, Dr Samiu.Kwadwo. Nuamah, has recounted how Ashanti Regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, abused political power and ousted him.
According to the one term MP, he was personally threatened by the embattled chairman popularly known as Wontumi, ahead parliamentary primaries that he was going to be unseated. He was however, never told his crime.
Repeatedly, the academic said, Wontumi told him his defeat was imminent and that he, the chairman, has been asked to oust him and ensure he does not return to the august house.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Oyerepa Radio, Dr Nuamah, engineer by progression, said even though he did not know what he did to warrant such unexplained treatment, he was cautioned to go and apologize to Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the former Food and Agriculture Minister, as his fate rested with him.
“This man that was arrested, Chairman Wontumi, he personally told me they will unseat me, He told me in person. He said he was asked to unseat me.
When he started, he said I should go and apologize to Akoto. He said, “Doc go and apologize, when he meets me he says “go and apologize”. Then, I said I have visited him [Dr Akoto] but he said he was busy so I should come another time”.
Fearing he may lose his seat, the then MP said he visited Dr Akoto but he told him to come back another time because he was busy.
“I did not even know what I was apologizing for. When it got to a point that the apology did not come he said he told but I did not listen”.
Recalling his ordeal, Dr Nuamah said after this, Wontumi set the agenda to remove him in motion and so the album that was used to elect constituency executives which was supposed to be used to elect the parliamentary candidate was changed.
Sensing danger, Dr Nuamah said he ran to court to seek redress but the judge sitting on the case was called and threatened. When he sat on the case, he had no choice but to dismiss the case.
“When we were about starting the delegates’ album, that’s what is used to elect constituency executives, that’s what is used to elect MP. What was used to elect constituency, when it got to my turn they said they will not agree. I did everything, I went to court they called the judge and threatened him.
When he sat on the case he simply dismissed it. That was how people abused power. For me, we are NPP and we will die as NPP but the bad things that happened we must say it”, he added.
The MP, who has promised not to contest the seat again, even though he boasts his good work is evident in the constituency for all to see, adding the erstwhile Akufo-Addo did a lot of bad things that should not be swept under the carpet.
“What I am saying is that our pomposity and arrogance did not help us, we should learn from it so if you say Kwadaso people voted against me that was not true, they did not it was schemed”.
Dr Nuamah said the manner in which he was treated by Wontumi and the NPP, he will not wish same for his enemy.
He called on the party leadership to do the necessary amendment as has been promised so that sanity will be brought to the party.
“They say we are coming to do amendment we should do it well and remove some of these things. I have lived it, I have experienced it and I have been treated in a way I don’t wish it on my enemy but it happened that a regional chairman will say we will unseat you”.
Dr Nuamah entered Parliament in 2017 after his time at the University of Ghana as a lecturer, but his time was short lived as he was booted out and replaced with another academic, Prof Kingsley Nyarko in 2021. Prof Nyarko is serving his second term.