Political scientist at the Univeristy of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has expressed misgivings about the retention of Dome-Kwabenya legislator, Adwoa Safo, as a member of parliament.
According to him, despite the apology rendered by Adwoa Safo, the chances of her constituents retaining her are quite slim.
He revealed that once she has come to the realization that she has erred and apologized to her constituents, it’s in order.
However, Dr Asah-Asante reckoned that Adwoa Safo should have shared her problems with the leadership of the NPP and her constituents, instead of leaving them in the dark.
He believes that her constituents would have reasoned with her on that level, “even if you stayed away for a long time”, but now, “she’s not going to survive”.
“… As to whether the party will accept her apology and her constituents will accept her again is another thing… So, I believe that even though she has apologized, as to whether or not the party will retain her is another thing.
“But I think that she did not do well… For me, I believe strongly that even if they accept her apology, they are not going to vote for her because you don’t do that…”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Justification for Adwoa Safo’s absenteeism from parliament
Furthermore, Dr Asah-Asante stated that despite the absence of the Dome-Kwabenya legislator from the political scene last year, she had “genuine cause” and supports her in prayer.
That notwithstanding, he expressed worry about the fact that Adwoa Safo failed to explain to her constituents and her party, considering the position she occupied.
“What is more is that the party leadership, I recall at a time called her and the response was not a good thing – that was a bit unfortunate.
“Remember, you are working on behalf of a constituency, and you are a member of a party which needs numbers to make their decisions in parliament and then when they call you, they don’t get any response, but other periods, you are seen on social media…”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Commenting on assertions that Adwoa Safo plays a very fundamental role in politics, Dr Asah-Asante emphasized that like any other public official, she’s not indispensable.
He highlighted that Adwoa Safo “can today, be put in the field as an MP, and next day, the people can decide to withdraw that mandate and the party will continue”.
“Everybody’s service can be dispensed off at any time that we the people of this country decide to dispense off that individual’s service – that is our right. It doesn’t lie in the mouth or bosom of anybody… I’m not sure that’s the thinking of the woman, otherwise, we are playing God and that without us, society will not survive…”
Dr Kwame Asah-Asante
Meanwhile, the constituency secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Dome-Kwabenya, Theophilus Ansah Larbi, has revealed that presenting incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Adwoa Safo again as the party’s parliamentary candidate may not augur well for the party.
He stated that such a move will affect the fortunes of the party, thereby placing the opposition, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in an advantageous position.
“… All these things Adwoa [Safo] has been doing started before the elections… She didn’t help in the campaign; she did not do anything after the election, and she just went away after the election [and] she is just coming back to apologize.”
Theophilus Ansah Larbi
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