Professor Ephraim Avea Nsoh, former Upper East and Upper West Regional Minister, is wondering why his two other contenders are willing to put up a contest when he could have been allowed to lead the National Democratic Congress into the 2024 election in the Bongo constituency.
Professor Avea Nsoh, explained that his two other contenders, Edward Abambire Bawa and Charles Bawadua do not have the requisite skills that define an individual as a Member of Parliament and, thus, a representative of the Bongo constituency.
“I said, on a lighter note, that standardly, Honourable Bawa and Lawyer Bawa should not be competing with me for this position. There are two things; legislator and developer. You need these two things [qualities]. I have them in me naturally as a linguist and a researcher. What do I need? As a legislator, I do not necessarily have to be a lawyer, but I should be able to stand up, argue, and represent the views of my people. I have that already. Point two, in terms of development, that is even worse for them. So why would they be competing for it?” he asked Mark Smith on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.
According to Professor Nsoh, the focus of delegates should be on an individual who drives development and not the age of the said individual.
“You hear people saying we want youth. No, you want development, you don’t want youth. You want someone who will be able to look at your ideas and what you can do. You don’t want youth. We need a certain standard so that the next person who comes after me, would say this is how the people of Bongo did it, not even me. That is the standard I want to set there,” he said.
According to Professor Avea Nsoh, the monetization of politics in the Bongo constituency has become an issue of concern.
“I want to win this and turn the concept of monetisation around. People come and monetise [the elections], and then they go away and leave the people. They only come [when elections are due]. The election is like a project. You gather money or find money somewhere, then you tell your people, this man doesn’t have money. You wouldn’t say, let me invest in them and change them so that you can win the elections. It is crazy.”
The former Upper East and Upper East Regional Minister explained that it is easy to remove money from the centre of elections in Ghana.
“It is very easy. Why can’t it be done? If I become a representative and the people realise that I come home and work with them and have a development strategy for them, why would they come and expect me to give them money? I have a plan for the youth.”
Edward Bawa is the incumbent MP for the Bongo constituency.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
