Some enraged members of the ruling National Democratic Congress, (NDC) at Jacobu in the Amansie Central district of Ashanti are hurling a litany of allegations at the District Chief Executive, Mr. Robert Fokuo, who they want removed from office immediately. Leading the charge of the youth is the party’s deputy youth organizer, Mr. Kingsley Anning, who also doubles as the coordinator of the National Youth Employment Programme in the district. He accuses Mr. Fokuo of physically assaulting him by punching him in the face when he (Anning) attempted to seek the release of party youth who had been arrested by the police. The DCE has rebuffed the accusation and the many others, telling Myjoyonline.com that what Anning claims to be an assault was not true because he “only pointed his finger at his nose”. Mr. Anning, in the company of some party members had told Myjoyonline.com that he, together with one Evans Yeboah, who is the National Disaster Management Organisation’s Coordinator for the district had gone to the Jacobu police station to seek the release of two members of the party who had been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the residence of the DCE. The two were said to be among a large number of the party’s youth at Jacobu who were displeased with the results in the recent local level elections and had gone to the residence of the DCE whom they accuse of not doing enough to support party members who contested the elections. They met his absence, however some of them decided to throw stones at the DCE’s gates, following which they were arrested. Mr. Anning told Myjoyonline.com that being a youth organizer of the party, he had thought he could secure an amicable settlement, and went to the DCE’s house with the NADMO coordinator. They however met his absence and followed up to the police station, where he said he was set upon by the DCE and a couple of policemen and assaulted. He and the NADMO coordinator were subsequently arrested and later sent to Bekwai. They were released the next day and have since been reporting daily to the police after their statements were taken. They have subsequently petitioned the Office of the President, the Interior Minister and party hierarchy to remove Mr. Fokuo from office because he is breeding disunity in the party and making it unpopular in the district. The petition, signed by Mr. Emmanuel Dede Appiah, who describes himself as the spokesman for the NDC members in Amansie Central, also accused the DCE of aligning with the opposition New Patriotic Party and supporting their cause against the interest of the NDC. The petitioners also accuse Mr. Robert Fokuo, the DCE, of teaming up with three “Constituency Executives to hijack the NDC Party” at Odotobri and that “the Party is going backwards and in wrong direction.” Again, they alleged “The DCE has awarded contracts to our political opponents whilst sidelining NDC businessmen who financed the Party in the Constituency during the ‘hard times’ for the party to come to power.” However, on the phone to the DCE, he counter-accused Messrs Anning and Yeboah of instigating the vandalism on his residence, maintaining that he had gone round to monitor the district level elections only to be called home to attend to an attack on his residence. Mr. Fokuor told Myjoyonline that he called in the police to attend to the emergency at his residence, and followed up to the police station upon being told that two of the youth involved in vandalizing his home had been arrested. Asked why his own party youth would attack him, he said they wrongly accuse him of not doing enough to promote “a strong NDC lady who contested the district level elections against a former NPP constituency chairman and lost”. He said they also accuse him of putting up a market project at Jacobu, which they describe as a stronghold of the NPP. “I was surprised that these same people that I have worked with would instigate the youth against me and I pointed my finger at his (Anning’s) nose, I did not punch him and I would not do that.” Asked if the police assaulted Kingsley Anning, Mr. Fokuo said he did not see anyone assault him or anyone else, maintaining that his only surprise was that these are people he had supported in various ventures previously, including endorsing Evans Yeboah’s application for the NADMO job, and wondered why they would scheme against him. “I pointed my hand at his nose because I did not believe he could do that to me.” Story by Myjoyonline.com/Ghana