President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked Assin North electorates not to vote for James Gyakye Quayson because he will soon go to jail.
Addressing congregants at a Church of Pentecost in the constituency, Akufo-Addo said his party is not behind the prosecution of the removed MP – but rather the law.
President Akufo Addo, however, noted that, re-electing James Gyakye Quayson as Assin North Member of Parliament will be in vain since he will soon be imprisoned.
“I have heard him (Quayson) say that even if he is in prison, you would vote for him. Eiii! What is the use of voting for someone who would be going to jail? What benefit are we going to get from that?” he questioned
Adding that, “We want someone who after the election can come to me so we sit and find solutions to your challenges.”
He further urged that his party’s Charles Opoku is capable to transform the consistency.
“Vote for him,” he urged.
Background
The Supreme Court of Ghana, on May 17, 2023, ordered the Parliament of Ghana to expunge the name of James Gyakye Quayson as a Member of Parliament (MP)
Justice Jones Victor Dotse, Justice Nene Amegatcher, Justice Mariama Owusu, Gertrude Araba Torkornoo, Justice Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Yonny Kulendi and Justice Barbara Ackah-Yensu declared that Quayson was not qualified at the time he contested the election 2020 in the Michael Ankomah Nimfah vs James Gyakye Quayson case.
According to the court, the ousted Assin North MP failed to prove that he had renounced his Canadian citizenship when he filed his nomination to contest the 2020 general elections.
Parliament subsequently declared the Assin North seat vacant, leading to the Electoral Commission of Ghana announcing a by-election on May 27, 2023, to fill the seat.
But there is still one case the former MP has to face in court after the Office of the Attorney General accused him of deceiving public officers to acquire state documents.
On February 12, 2022, the State charged James Gyakye Quayson with five counts; deceit of a public officer, forgery of a passport, knowingly making a false statutory declaration, perjury, and false declaration.
