Samuel Bissah doesn’t qualify to contest in May 13 election based on party’s guidelines – Skyy Power FM

The journey to electing parliamentary hopefuls to contest various parliamentary seats across the country on the ticket of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 general elections has largely been successful from the picking and filing of nomination forms as well as vetting with few uncertainties which still remain unresolved.

In the Sekondi Constituency one of the candidates who has been cleared to contest the upcoming internal parliamentary elections slated for Saturday, 13^th May 2023 falls short of the criteria set by the NDC party to qualify someone to contest yet the vetting committee turned a blind eye to pass Mr. Samuel Bissah (Jubido) and subsequently refused to hear the petition against their verdict based on the party’s own ground rules governing the entire process.

In a statement sighted by our political desk setting the records straight, the petitioner who is also an aspiring parliamentary candidate for the Sekondi constituency, Lawyer Blay Armah Nyameke sought to question the eligibility of a letter purported to have emanated from the Atlanta branch of the NDC supporting Mr. Bissah’s claim that he is a member of their branch which has been established as not factual.

The lingering question is that, how was the letter determined to be truly from the party office in Atlanta. Did the letter have an official seal from the purported office in Atlanta and why didn’t the office in Atlanta attach a copy of the membership register from the Branch that he [Mr. Samuel Bissah] claims to belong.

Meanwhile an official letter from his branch abroad to confirm his membership was supposed to have been sent to the IRD, the Regional Head Office and the Constituency office before vetting and to state all conditions as stated in the party’s guidelines. And that it was not supposed to be presented to the vetting committee on the day of vetting by hand.

So, we ask how the vetting committee was able to establish Mr. Samuel Bissah’s full membership with his card or a copy of the register?

Every member of the NDC can affirm that membership cards are issued to prove one’s membership with his/her number and details on it which corresponds with the register. Why was he [Samuel Bissah] not able to produce his card as proof of his membership?

It is important to note that under the provision in the guidelines as stated in 2.0 Qualification 2.1. “a person desirous of contesting for the position of parliamentary candidate of the NDC in any constituency shall: be a citizen of Ghana who has attained the age of 21 years or above ii. a card bearing member of the party in good standing, who has paid his/her party membership dues in full (i.e., from January 2018 to December 2022) iii. be an active member of a branch of the party in the constituency for not less than four (4) years immediately preceding the date of filing his/her nominations, except otherwise determined by the Functional Executive Committee or except the person is a member of a foreign or external branch of the party.”

Considering the evidence available to us from deep-throat-sources closer to the NDC party Atlanta branch, Mr. Samuel Bissah’s claim of being a card bearing member from that branch is in question and that does not qualify him to contest in the upcoming parliamentary primaries yet he has been cleared to contest with Lawyer Blay Armah.

The Sekondi NDC Constituency executives as well as the Western regional executives of the NDC are tightlipped about this abnormal rubbishing of the party’s guidelines and ground rules to allow this illegality to foster regardless of several attempts to draw their attention. Attempts by our team to get some answers from the party hierarchy has proved futile.    

That notwithstanding it’s been established that Mr. Samuel Bissah aka JUBIDU has not been a registered voter in Ghana since 1994 and by that has not made any significant contribution to the political decisions in the entire Sekondi constituency for about 29 years now.

The signs on the wall are so clear and everyone in the Sekondi constituency is very much aware of the fact that the grassroot base of the party as well as the delegates are clamoring for Lawyer Blay Armah (Cool Running) while the few constituency executives are on the side of Mr. Samuel Bissah (Jubidu) that explains why they have turned a blind eye on all the issues against him.

If not why clear him to contest? Most importantly, how was Mr. Samuel Bissah’s membership at Atlanta verified?

We would also like to know for records sake and for posterity as well. It is equally fair and important to let the petitioners as well know the outcome of your findings on Mr. Bissah to settle all doubts.