The rejected candidate, Alfredos Nii Anyetei
Tensions boiled over at the La Dade Kotopon Municipal Assembly (LADMA) on Tuesday as the President’s nominee for Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Alfredos Nii Anyetei, was overwhelmingly rejected by Assembly Members—an outcome that party supporters say was a clear protest against what they described as calculated attempts by the area’s MP, Hon. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, and former Deputy Minister, Hon. Namoale, to sideline the grassroots favourite, Hon. Aaron Akrong.
Mr. Anyetei secured only 5 out of 14 votes cast, representing 36%, far short of the two-thirds majority required for confirmation. His defeat effectively disqualifies him from being re-nominated, as he did not even reach the 50% threshold necessary to trigger a second vote.
The rejection triggered jubilant scenes among party supporters and Assembly Members who accused the MP—who also serves as the Deputy Minister for Local Government—and Hon. Namoale of orchestrating a campaign to block Hon. Aaron Akrong from being nominated, despite his overwhelming popularity and long service to the party and constituency.
“Aaron Akrong is the people’s choice. He has paid his dues, served this Assembly for over 15 years, and worked day and night for the party to win this seat. We won’t allow people in Accra or in government to impose anyone on us,” one enraged party supporter declared at the Assembly premises.
Party loyalists chanted slogans and revolutionary songs, with many calling for an end to what they described as elite political manipulation. “This is not just about rejecting a nominee; it’s about resisting an agenda to reward cronies and punish loyalty. Aaron Akrong has earned this—he’s not someone to be sacrificed for personal politics,” another protester said.
Hon. Akrong, affectionately called “Ice Tee,” has served as an Assembly Member for over 15 years and has been Chief Whip of the Assembly for more than a decade. His deep connection with the grassroots, institutional knowledge of the Assembly, and role in mobilizing support for the NDC in the 2020 elections have made him the consensus candidate among the rank-and-file.
Supporters accuse Hon. Naa Odoley Sowah and Hon. Namoale of deliberately pushing Alfred Anyetei—a relatively inexperienced figure—simply to sideline Akrong, whose ambition to be MCE was well known and broadly supported within the constituency. Anyetei’s nomination, they claim, was more about compensating the legacy of his late father, Magnus Anyetei Sowah, a former party chairman, than it was about competence or readiness.
There were also murmurs about financial incentives gone wrong, with unverified claims that Assembly Members were promised GH¢50,000 each to vote in favour of the nominee but only received GH¢13,000. This, insiders say, further soured sentiments against the nominee.
Regional Minister Hon. Linda Ocloo, who was present at the confirmation, expressed disappointment in the outcome, calling it a setback for development. “It’s sad to see Assembly Members jubilating over the nominee’s rejection,” she said, suggesting that a second attempt may still be made to present the same candidate.
But on the ground, the mood is defiant. Party supporters insist that no amount of political pressure will change their minds, and they are urging President Mahama to listen to the people and nominate Hon. Aaron Akrong.
“The message is simple: we don’t want a puppet. We want our own. We want Ice Tee,” a leading youth member emphasized
The MCE impasse has become a litmus test for internal democracy within the NDC at the local level, and how the leadership handles it may determine the party’s cohesion and electoral strength in La Dade Kotopon heading into 2028.
