New Patriotic Party (NPP) aspiring parliamentary candidate, Sammy Binfoh Darkwa, has expressed his frustration and concerns over the conduct of the incumbent Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond.

Speaking with JoyNews, Mr Darkwa who is the main contender of the Mr Hammond accused the Trades Minister of behaving as if the parliamentary seat was his birthright and attempting to undermine his candidacy from the outset.

Mr Darkwa alleged that Mr Hammond, who has been representing Adansi-Asokwa for the past 24 years, initiated efforts to disqualify him from the race by raising baseless allegations.

The aspiring candidate claimed that these actions not only wasted his time and resources but also the time of party leaders.

"From day one, K.T Hammond behaves as if the seat of Adansi-Asokwa is his birthright. He acts as though he came from his mother’s womb with the seat, therefore, nobody should dare come to the seat, but that is not the case. He started with strategies to disqualify me.

"…When the leaders of the party decided to still let me contest, he now wanted to use the back door to change the list of voters. Why?" he asked.

Earlier this year, Mr Hammond petitioned the Ashanti Regional Vetting Committee to disqualify his main opponent in the primary.

Related Story: K.T. Hammond extends petition to NEC seeking Sammy Binfoh’s disqualification

However, after hours of deliberation on the matter, the vetting committee discarded the petition and cleared both aspirants to begin their campaign.

He subsequently filed another petition to the National Vetting Committee of the party, seeking the disqualification of all three opponents in the party’s parliamentary primaries.

Related story: NPP Primaries: K.T. Hammond disappointed his challengers were not disqualified

This was also thrown out. These decisions, according to Mr Hammond, left him disappointed.

Expressing his frustration over Mr Hammond's behaviour, the aspiring candidate questioned why the long-serving parliamentarian would resort to such tactics if he truly believed in his track record over the past 24 years.

Mr Darkwa asserted that the desperation exhibited by the incumbent MP suggests that he might lose the primary.

"He is on the verge of losing everything. But people have left parliament and they've still been relevant to the party. K.T. Hammond should find something to do with his life, he should stop acting like Adansi-Asokwa is his birthright," he added.