The ruling National Democratic Congress has rebutted claims it failed to do due diligence in the selection of District and Metropolitan Chief Executives. General Secretary of the NDC Johnson Asiedu Nketia at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday said the president set up the most efficient team to assist him appoint the metropolitan and district heads. Mr Asiedu-Nketia maintained allegations against some of the nominees are rather unfounded. The appointment of DCEs and MCEs by the Mills administration has been fraught with a barrage of challenges. While some of the president’s men have been accused of not hailing from the districts to which they had been assigned, others would not be given the nod because of certain long-standing rivalry between them and the traditional authorities in their areas. According to Mr Asiedu-Nketia, the party held the press conference to respond to the many criticisms launched at the president over his choices for the positions. Joy FM’s Sammy Darko who sat through the conference reported that Mr Asiedu Nketia had maintained certain persons who were short-listed for appointment but were not given the nod could be behind the blistering criticisms being pelted at the DCE and MCE nominees. The party also believes ethnicity could derail efforts at achieving development in the country. Mr Asiedu Nketia described as unfortunate situations where nominees are hacked on the premise that they do not hail from the areas to which they have been appointed. The DCE nominee for Atebutu-Amanten, Mr Sanja Nanja, was rejected in the first ballot on him by assembly members of the district who claimed Mr Nanja was not an indigenous person. Mr Asiedu-Nketia stressed that the only solution to the perennial problems that seem to confront the appointment of municipal and district heads would be for the country to revisit the old practice in which the president’s nominees do not need to be approved. Story by Fiifi Koomson