Some aggrieved members of the Akyem Oda Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have locked up the party office at Oda out of frustration. They claimed that they would never re-open the office until the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Ms Ophelia Koomson and the constituency executives pay them an amount ofGH¢3,250 owed them. The aggrieved people also accused the MCE of flirting with the opposition New Patriotic party (NPP) members to the extent that she had been awarding them contracts to sew school uniforms for deprived children at the expense of the NDC members who struggled through thick and thin for the party to win political power in 2008. Briefing the Daily Graphic at Oda last Sunday, the leader of those who locked up the office, Mr Kofi Owusu, said during the burial and funeral rites of the late Mr Yaw Frimpong, who was the constituency Secretary of the NDC about seven months ago, the executives of the party urged them to seek for a loan to buy a coffin for his burial, as well as food and drinks to refresh patrons at the funeral. He said they managed to secure a loan of GH¢3,500 to buy the items for the funeral. Mr Owusu said after the funeral, they approached the Constituency NDC Chairman, Mr Mumuni Gariba, to demand the money to settle the loan but he told them to exercise restraint until an MCE was appointed for him to settle the indebtedness and they agreed. He alleged that when Ms Koomson was appointed about three months ago as the MCE and they contacted her on the issue, she said she would not pay the money since the late Mr Frimpong was the cause of her outright rejection when she was first nominated. According to him, he contacted Mr Mumuni, the MCE, and the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Baba Jamal, for the payment of the loan but to no avail. Mr Owusu said the people from whom they secured the loans had to arraign them before the Oda District Magistrate's Court about two months ago, which gave them one month to pay the money failure to which would land them in prison custody. He stated that they had to report the matter to Mr Kwadwo Atta Krah, the 2008 NDC parliamentary candidate for Oda constituency, who put pressure on the Constituency Chairman, Mr Gariba, to see to the indebtedness but the only thing he (Mr Gariba) could do was to pay GH¢250 leaving a difference ofGH¢3,250. Mr Owusu stressed that since all their efforts to get the money from the NDC executives and the MCE to settle the indebtedness had proved futile, they had no alternative than to lock up the party office to compel them to pay the money to them. When the Daily Graphic contacted Mumuni Gariba, the NDC Constituency Chairman on the issue, he confirmed the assertion of the aggrieved party members. He, however, appealed to them to re-open the office as early as possible as he was trying to mobilise some money to pay the debt if the MCE failed to pay it. When Ms Koomson was contacted, she denied all the allegations levelled against her. Source: Daily Graphic