The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), after two failed attempts, has finally elected Architect Hon. Eugene Fredua Offori-Atta as the Presiding Member of the Assembly. He was the sole candidate and had 50 “yes” votes as against three “no” for the 57-member House. Four members, including the three members of Parliament and Hon. Napoleon Agyeman Oduro, Assembly Member for the Kojokrom Electoral Area were absent from the meeting. The deputy Western Regional Director for the Electoral Commission, Mr. Joshua Prempeh, who supervised the process, declared Hon. Ofori-Atta the winner after a successful election. Her Worship Olivia Dadzie, the Sekondi District Court Magistrate, swore in the newly elected presiding member as he took the Oath of office, secrecy and allegiance.

In his opening statement, Hon. Ofori-Atta thanked the Hon. Members for the overwhelming votes, adding that there was a need to stay united to advance the development course of the Assembly. “We have been home for six months because we were divided, and it is time to put all efforts together to stay united to commit to our respective duties for development, he added.” He implored the Honourable Members to embrace people of all classes to collectively work towards the betterment of the Assembly, adding that he would uphold the welfare of the various communities to enable Hon. Members to achieve their constituency goals. The new Presiding Member pledged to use his office for the good course of the Assembly and not to behave in a manner that would cause a stain on the image of the Assembly.

The Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director of the Assembly, Mr. Innocent Haligah, pointed out that the absence of a Presiding Member in the last six months had slowed down the pace of work and indicated that upon the election of the Presiding Member, all must accord him the needed support and collaboration to fast track all the pending works for the development of the Metropolis.

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