Kumasi — The Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumawu, Yaw Baah, a former constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. D. K. Adusei, and former District Chief Executive (DCE) Mr. I. Opoku Boateng, have been accused of campaigning against the candidature of Mr. Philip Basoah, the party's parliamentary aspirant in the December elections.

Reports from Kumawu indicate that some constituency executives have teamed up with the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, in a move against the party's candidate.

An independent parliamentary candidate, Mr. Dominic Oteng, who has emerged in the constituency, is said to be having a push from these NPP men, in order to achieve the aim of ousting the party's candidate at the elections.

A situational report to the Regional Secretariat of the party indicated that the party men were said to be moving heaven and earth to sabotage the parliamentary bid of the young NPP aspirant, and have already launched a campaign to encourage "skirt and blouse" voting in the elections.

It said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliament candidate was nephew of the former NPP DCE, Opoku Boateng, while the People's Progressive Party (PPP) candidate, Collins Kumi Boateng, is said to be a relation of MP Yaw Baah.

The report signed by Mr. Joseph Danso and K. K. G. Appiah Kubi, constituency chairman and secretary respectively, complained of attempts by the group to scuttle the votes of the NPP candidate, on the basis of hatred and sheer wickedness.

But, Mr. Kennedy Oppong Antwi, constituency youth wing chairman of the NPP, has given the assurance that the campaigning would be intensified to thwart the efforts of the saboteurs.

He called on the party hierarchy at the national and regional level to investigate the issue, and sanction the said members on the strength of Article 381, which provides dismissal sanctions for members who go independent or support candidates against the party.

Mr. Frederick Fredua Antoh, NPP Regional Chairman, however, said he was not privy to the petition, but indicated that the persons mentioned by the concerned constituency executives had denied the allegations at a meeting with the flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in Kumasi recently, and hoped there was no problem there.

Meanwhile, Dr. Duffour has dismissed the allegation of sponsoring the independent candidate at Kumawu.

He said he was concentrating on an NDC campaign, and that if anybody needed a push, it would be the NDC candidate. "If I had money, I would rather help the NDC candidate," he said, and queried, "Why would I have to support the NPP anyway?"

Mr. Basoah, a former DCE for the Sekyere East and Sekyere Afram Plains districts, would contest the elections on the ticket of the NPP, with Mr. Samuel Asiamah for the NDC, Collins Kumi Boateng for PPP, and Dominic Oteng as an independent candidate.