Presidential staffer, Samuel George Nartey has vowed to use the impending NDC primary to uproot the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Enoch Teye Mensah, popularly referred to as Ningo-Prampram Methuselah from his seat and take over as the new MP for the area, come January 2017. According to him, the days of the former Accra Mayor are long gone and that the earlier the Hon MP understands that, the better, because the people are calling on him to represent them and that is exactly what he is going to do.
The presidential staffer made the declaration soon after he submitted his nomination forms at the Ningo-Prampram NDC constituency party office yesterday, amidst the tooting of motor-bicycles and car horns, singing and dancing by a huge crowd, who are ostensibly his supporters.
Determined to deracinate E. T. Mensah, who he worked with for over three years, the man, popularly known as Sam George, said he was optimistic that the people in the constituency will vote massively for him, which will obviously send one of the longest serving MPs in Ghana to political retirement.
“Hon E. T. Mensah has had his day in the sun, he has had his time in the spot light, the people in Ningo-Prampram are grateful to him, and I lead the chorus to say, we are grateful to him for 20 long years of meritorious service and sacrifice, but the time has come for him to hang up his boots.
“You must know when to bow out; when the applause is loudest, his time has passed, there is a new kid on the block, there is someone whose sun has risen, his (E. T. Mensah) sun has set, it is my time, my people has asked me to lead them, I have the mandate of my people and the voice of the people is the voice of God,” he stated.
Answering a question on how he feels going to contest against the man he worked under for over three years, with all the huge experiences he has, Sam George has this to say: “I once upon a time was working with Hon E. T. Mensah and I am immensely grateful to him for the opportunity to work with him and learn from him. I am grateful for that.
“However, before the PNDC came into being, under Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, Enoch Teye Mensah was a name, nobody in the country knew, thanks to Flt Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, he picked Enoch Teye Mensah from being an account clerk at the University of Ghana, Legon and made him the Accra Mayor, made him deputy minister, made him a minister of state and he became a household name.
“In 2012, we heard the things Enoch Teye Mensah said about Mr. Rawlings and his wife; what would you call that? I have said nothing evil, nothing negative about Hon E. T. Mensah. I remain grateful for the opportunity I had to work with him for three years.
“I had happy moments, I had sad moments, but I learnt from every one of them. Today I serve President John Dramani Mahama and I know that when the time comes, it will be my turn to also mentor other people. I am mentoring other people even at this time. It’s not about experience and how long the person has been there, then nobody should have come, then nobody else should contest him.
“Then there should be no new entrants into the parliamentary race. But before Hon E. T. Mensah became MP in 1996, there was an MP, Hon B.B. Carbo, he stepped aside for a then parliamentary novice called E.T. Mensah to step into the fray.
“You may call me a parliamentary novice today, but I have learnt at the feet of many political masters, many political colossuses, including Hon E. T. Mensah, late Prof John Evans Atta-Mills and today President Mahama, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have learnt from them, but the time is now; it’s Sam George this time round”, he eulogized.
When asked his impression about one Michael who has also filed his nomination to contest the parliamentary primary, he noted that as far as he was concerned, the race is between him and E.T. Mensah.
He indicated: “As far as I am concerned, some games are for men only, this is a battle between myself and Hon E. T. Mensah, any other person who wants to sit at the table of men, must first qualify to be a man to sit at the table of men”.
Answering a question as to whether he is a Nigerian, Mr. Sam George said he is 100 percent Ghanaian, saying “I was born in Somanya General Hospital, I wasn’t born in Accra, the records are there, they can go and check. I am 100 percent Ghanaian.
“My mother is Hon E. T. Mensah’s cousin, so if I am a Nigerian then he is also Nigerian. But those who say I am Nigerian must go and get lessons from the constitution that states clearly who a Ghanaian is.”
Touching on what his priorities would be when he is voted for, Mr. Sam George observed that he would build consensus between owners and managers of companies operating within the constituency of his constituencies to get jobs for the teaming unemployed youth of the area.
He disclosed that there are so many companies springing up from Community 25 towards Prampram and Ningo, and so he will sit down with the heads of these businesses and make a demand for his people, adding “Human capital development is going to be my key focus.
He continued that he is going to use his leverage in the NDC to lobby for the deplorable roads, which people in the constituency have been crying for the last 20 years, to be constructed.
Sam George also hinted that “we have become a district and we deserve a district hospital. If you look at this constituency, it is becoming extremely cosmopolitan with the number of settlement in here, but we don’t have a district hospital here.
“When people fall sick they have to travel all the way to Bator or Tema General Hospital or Ashaiman. It is time for us to have our own. I promise my people that one of my key priorities in my first four years will be to lobby government to bring a district hospital here in this constituency. |
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