A group calling itself the “Movement for Change in Akatsi District” (MOCHAD) has called on the National Executive Council of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to hold fresh Parliamentary primaries in the Avenor-Ave constituency to elect a Parliamentary candidate as they do not recognize the candidate-elect, Edward Doe Adjaho as their candidate for the December polls. Clad in red attires with matching arm bands amidst the chanting of war songs and the waving of placards some of which read “NO PRIMARY, NO VOTE FOR THE NDC IN AVENOR-AVE”, “NDC DO NOT IMPOSE DOE ADJAHO ON US” and “NDC STOP STEALING OUR FRANCHISE”, the group demonstrated clearly their dissatisfaction with Mr. Adjaho’s candidature. Mr. Adjaho got the nod for the sixth straight time to contest the Avenor-Ave constituency seat after his sole contender, a legal practitioner, Evans Gadeto Djikunu was disqualified for allowing persons without party cards to endorse his nomination form. But MOCHAD which describes itself as a pressure group within the NDC in the constituency is raising red flags over Mr. Adjaho’s candidature which its argues was attained through foul means. “We are respectfully compelled under very nauseating circumstances to organize the instant press conference to tell all Ghanaians that we do not recognize Hon. Doe-Adjaho as the NDC Parliamentary candidate for the 2012 general elections, in view of the manner the so-called primary was recently held on 21st January 2012 in the Avenor-Ave constituency and also the fact that the NDC party has consistently demonstrated that it has no respect for the people of Avenor-Ave” the group’s President, Francis Tengey said at a press conference Tuesday at the Press Centre. According to Mr. Tengey, although “it can be categorically stated that for a long time the Avenor-Ave constituency shall continue to choose the NDC party from parties presented at the general elections irrespective of the candidate” his group and the “silent majority” in the constituency are tired of Mr. Adjaho’s continuous attempts to prevent others from having a shot at the Parliamentary seat. He noted that whereas other constituencies in the Volta Region have the opportunity of going through parliamentary primaries to elect persons they want to represent them in Parliament, “the Avenor-Ave constituency has been denied the opportunity because of the insatiable greed of the incumbent, Mr. E.K. Doe Adjaho.” Mr. Tengey accused the incumbent MP of using his “long incumbency and influence at the constituency and national levels to declare himself unopposed as a parliamentary candidate for the NDC in Avenor-Ave for the sixth time… In fact, for 20 years that Hon. Doe Adjaho has been in Parliament, primary elections has been held only once in 2004. He has always manipulated the party structures and the constituency executives to go unopposed for four times.” According to him, when an aspirant, Seth Aglago made an attempt to contest Mr. Adjaho in 2008, he suffered a similar fate as Lawyer Djikunu as the incumbent MP ensured that he was also disqualified. “If Hon. E.K. Doe Adjaho, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Avenor-Ave, were that popular and who the constituents so much want to represent them in Parliament for the ‘umpteenth’ time, why would he always develop cold feet and shudder to contemplate participation in a fair game of primaries” Mr. Tengey queried. He however warned “if the party fails to pay heed to our demand, we would have no option but to mobilize the good people of Avenor-Ave, particularly the youth, to rise up and fight against this apparent injustice that has been perpetrated against us by the NDC party until the true representative of the people is ultimately elected to represent us in Parliament.”