Veep galvanises votes for Amenfi West by-election

From Edmund Mingle, Asankragwa

The Vice President, Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, yesterday appealed to the chiefs and people of Amenfi West to help the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) retain the constituency parliamentary seat.

According to him, the best honour they could give to the memory of John Gyetuah, who was the NDC Member of Parliament for the constituency, was to vote massively for the party during Tuesday’s by-election to ensure the continuation of his good works.

The Vice President made the comments during separate courtesy calls on chiefs in Amenfi West in the Western Region, as part of his visit to the area to commiserate with the family of the late MP, chiefs, party members and residents.

Vice President and Mr. Afful acknowledging cheers from supporters at Asankragwa

The late MP, who was credited for initiating various projects and interventions in the constituency, would be laid to rest at Breman tomorrow.

There would be a by-election on Tuesday to elect his successor.

Four parties, including the Progressive People’s Party and United Front Party are contesting the vacant seat, but the NDC’s Eric Afful and the New Patriotic Party’s Paul Denkyi are the forerunners.

“We cannot afford to lose this seat,” the Vice President said, and urged the constituents to show their appreciation to the late MP.

“If you really appreciate his good works, then you need to vote for our man who presents an appropriate replacement,” he said.

He described the deceased as a resourceful person who supported the government and expressed confidence that he would be replaced with Mr. Afful.

In addition, he assured the chiefs of government’s continued support for the development of the area, saying all ongoing cocoa road projects in the area would be completed.

The chief of Breman, Nana Kwabena Amarama II, commended the Vice President for the visit and for his assurance that more projects would be allocated to the area.

He appealed for the construction of a polyclinic to cater for the increasing health care of the area, adding that the clinic would be named after the late MP.

Later at a campaign rally at Asankragwa, Vice President Amissah-Arthur urged the members of the party to work hard to retain the seat.

After observing a minute’s silence for the deceased, the Vice President described his demise as a great loss to the party and nation.