Group calls for ministerial appointment for James Enu
A group of National Democratic Congress (NDC) executives in the Northern region have made a clarion call on President-elect, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, to appoint the Member of Parliament-elect for Tema West as a minister.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NDC Natural Loyalists (NDC-NL) said such an appointment would be a befitting assuagement for Lawyer James Enu, who for over twenty years, fought with his own resources to gain the NDC a foothold in Tema West, a constituency that has always been a preserve for the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“As loyalists, we hope that the current Mahama government will not repeat the mistakes of the previous tenure where people who sacrificed for the party were sidelined and got nothing in return.
"And if there are going to be rewards for tenacious party thoroughbreds, none is as richly deserving as Lawyer James Enu, who sold his properties to secure the NDC this new foothold in Tema West,” the statement said.
Led by Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, NDC-NL is made up of pure party loyalists from constituencies in the Northern region. These are the kinds of NDC members who stay with the party whether in power or in opposition.
“Lawyer James Enu is a shining example of the spirit of an Akatamansonian loyalist, and we think that his loyalty must be acknowledged and compensated, and appointing him to a Ministry would do the trick,” the statement added.
Lawyer James Enu is the MP-elect for Tema West, a seat that hitherto was an almost safe seat for the New Patriotic Party. And he did so by beating the NPP’s candidate, Dennis Amfo-Sefah alias Nana Boakye, resoundingly with a win margin of more than 22,000 votes.
Not only that, Lawyer James Enu also campaigned vigorously for president John Mahama, leading to Mahama winning against Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia with a vote margin of more than 21,000.
Following the announcement of the results, jubilant NDC supporters took to the street to celebrate a victory that, according to Mr. Mohammed Alhassan, took almost everything that Lawyer James Enu had to offer.”
The statement of the NDC – NL, lawyer burst to the political scene in 2012, after he had helped the party, low-key, for years, including offering pro bono legal services.
“In 2011, he contested the Tema West NDC primary and lost honourably. Then the party hierarchy pleaded with him to contest Tema Central, after that constituency had been carved out of Tema East.
"It was a barren and unreceptive constituency to the NDC but Lawyer James Enu did not turn down the challenge,” the statement said. It continued that, “Lawyer James Enu sold his properties to fund his campaign for the contest, but was not lucky.”
Lawyer James Enu went on to contest the 2015 parliamentary primary in Tema West and won to bear the NDC’s parliamentary ticket for 2016 election and lost honourably.
“Prior to this, Lawyer James Enu had been penciled for appointment as the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tema in 2013, however, the late Paul Victor Obeng, who was then close to President John Mahama convinced him to appoint an outlier, Rev. Isaac Ashai Odamtten, instead.”
According to the statement, Rev. Ashai Odamtten was “an outlier” because “in the original list of penciled names for MCE in 2013, Lawyer James Enu was first, followed by George Medie, before Isaac Ashai Odamtten.”
Lawyer James Enu was unhappy, but the national leadership pleaded with him to let it go, “and even though that treatment was unfair, James Enu laced his boots to fight for the Tema West seat for the NDC again.” Yet again, after winning the primary, he lost the main election to the NPP’s candidate.
“But indefatigable Lawyer James Enu never stopped, and today, his persistence has been crowned with success. There is no better way for the NDC to acknowledge his loyalty, selflessness and tenacity than to appoint him to a decent Ministry,” the statement reiterated.
It also pointed out that Lawyer James Enu was instrumental in former President Mahama’s overwhelming victory in the presidential election in Tema West, where he beat Dr. Bawumia with a winning margin of more than 21,000 votes.
“From Tema West being a safe seat for NPP, today it has been captured by the NDC, thanks to our indefatigable Lawyer James Enu,” the statement emphasized
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