A face-off between Abraham Amaliba, a foremost member of the legal and communications teams of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Isaac Adongo, a renowned financial analyst and NDC parliamentary candidate for Bolgatanga Central, has taken a twist for the worse.

This is because Mr. Amaliba has levelled strong allegations that he has been expelled from the party’s campaign team in the constituency on a recommendation allegedly made by the parliamentary candidate.

“I can confirm that the PC (parliamentary candidate), Isaac Adongo, has actually asked that I be excluded from the campaign team. I was informed by the constituency secretary that I was to be the coordinator for the campaign. I gladly accepted the challenge, knowing that I have a good number of people following me.

“So, I accepted the challenge. But two days ago, I was informed by the constituency secretary again that Isaac Adongo [had] said that my name be removed. For whatever reason, I don’t know. But that is the information I have now,” Lawyer Amaliba told newsmen in Bolgatanga.

The divided camps
A showdown between the two giants began in the buildup to the party’s primaries conducted late in 2015 ahead of the 2016 general elections.

They were among four aspirants who took part in a red-hot contest that saw their camps ceaselessly hurl unspeakable words at one another before and after the internal elections.

Mr. Adongo grabbed the parliamentary ticket with 4,290 votes. Abraham Amaliba fell behind with 3,052 votes. Incumbent Member of Parliament, Emmanuel Akolbire Opam-Brown, and George Gamson, a senior revenue officer, placed third and fourth with 2,956 and 906 votes respectively.

With the conquered camps ‘licking the wounds’ sustained in the buildup and openly declaring their plans to vote against the parliamentary candidate at the main elections in December, this year, the party cracked wide apart with a ‘frightening sound’ that sparked unrestrained jubilations at rivals’ camps throughout the constituency.

“I thought Adongo could have called me”- Amaliba

The latest revelation from Mr. Amaliba comes at a time many had assumed that the ‘iron curtains’ between the camps of the two titans already had given way for a reunion. That assumption came about after Mr. Amaliba’s camp, shortly after the primaries, launched a group branded “Lawyer Amaliba Fan Club” and subsequently invited Mr. Adongo to one of their gatherings to forge unity.

“I thought that after our elections, I mean the primaries, we had all agreed to bury our differences. Indeed, I was the first among all the [aspirants] to have called for my supporters to support Adongo at the Catering Rest House. I did that on two occasions. I also gathered my supporters and asked Adongo to come and meet them at the Catering Rest House for the third time, and Adongo was there to meet them.

“So, I had thought that we had buried the hatchet, but I didn’t know the PC still had something against me. But nonetheless, I will still contribute my quota to the campaign. I feel that probably he was misinformed. But I also thought that he could have called me to find out whether I would be ready and prepared to do the work. He didn’t do that and went ahead to recommend my removal from the campaign team,” Mr. Amaliba stated.

Secretary claims he was misread
When contacted, the constituency secretary, Abdallah Salifu, dismissed Mr. Amaliba’s statement as contrary to what he claimed Mr. Adongo said.

He explained to Starr News that when time was due for a party committee to constitute a campaign team, Mr. Amaliba came up as a good material for the campaign coordinator not only because of his notable stature in the party’s structure but also because his choice tactically would help forge the unity needed to retain the seat.

He said, to avoid any embarrassment, he had to consult Mr. Amaliba first to be sure of his readiness to serve in that capacity. The legal practitioner, according to him, welcomed the proposal. But when the committee finally met, three names reportedly were proposed for the position of a campaign coordinator. They included: Donald Adabere, former Ghana Ambassador to Mali; Edward Ayagle, former Municipal Chief Executive for Bolgatanga and Abraham Amaliba.

The parliamentary candidate, according to the secretary, observed that the NDC was already dawdling behind the other parties in the constituency with regard to campaign activities. So, he recommended that someone resident in the constituency should be considered as a coordinator for the purposes of thorough delivery towards the polls.

“When we met with our council of elders to fine-tune the list, we looked for the most experienced among them. With Mr. Adabere, he has been an election campaign chairman for several elections. So, we decided that we should make him the coordinator. The other names were dropped- both Amaliba and the former MCE. Nonetheless, we went ahead to form other eight committees which are going to be chaired by other prominent members including all those who contested the last primaries. We have brought them on board. This is yet to be announced,” the secretary told Starr News.

Mr. Salifu did not point out that he relayed the said final decision taken by the committee to Mr. Amaliba. But it appears he did so because he also said: “The parliamentary candidate did not specifically say we should remove Mr. A or Mr. B. It’s always good, when communication goes out and there are a bit of changes, you send the communication out again so that nobody comes expecting and he doesn’t get and it becomes an issue. I don’t know why Amaliba has taken this thing too personal.”

Isaac Adongo denies “removal” statement

Meanwhile, the parliamentary candidate has denied the statement attributed to him on Amaliba’s alleged exclusion from the campaign squad, saying he does not have the power to recommend such.

“As we speak, the campaign team has not been fully constituted. Once the campaign team has been fully constituted and formed, an official communication to that effect will be issued to the members of the campaign team. And I am not aware if Amaliba was issued a letter by the party confirming to him that he [was] the campaign coordinator.

“It does not really lie in my power to appoint or remove campaign coordinator or campaign members. I do believe that Amaliba knows that I don’t have that power. It is a committee made up of party elders and the constituency executives including the parliamentary candidate that take that collective decision,” Mr. Adongo said.

NDC’s performances as against opponents since 2008

The Bolgatanga Central Constituency, as shown by statistics, is safe for NDC supporters to pride themselves on as a stronghold.

The NDC’s Emmanuel Akolbire Opam-Brown in 2008 (before the Bolgatanga Constituency was divided between the central and the east) won the seat with 28,656 (57.7%) votes. Mercy Alima Musah of the NPP got 10,063 (20.2%) votes. David Apasera attracted 10,009 (20.1%) votes with CPP’s Evelyn Lamisi Anabila polling 640 (1.3%) ballots. Anyema Robert Abiiro of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) gathered 229 (0.5%) and Solomon Atiah Awuni of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) gained 97 (0.2%) votes.

The 2012 polls saw the NDC’s Emmanuel Akolbire Opam-Brown acquire 28, 144 (59.12%) votes. Dr. Gheysika Agambila of the NPP obtained 13, 464 (28.28%) votes whilst the PPP’s Robert Analmoga garnered 3,523 (7.40%). The PNC’s Lawyer Rockson Akugre attracted 2,260 (4.75%) and Saeed Jafar Mohammed of the National Democratic Party (NDP) got 216 (0.45%) votes.

starrfmonline.com