BISHOP AYEEBO DISMISSES CLAIMS BY NDEBUGRE (PAGE 13, JAN 6, 2011)

A MEMBER of the Council of State, Reverend Dr Jacob Kofi Ayeebo, has rejected claims by Mr John Ndebugre a defeated candidate of the recent District Assembly election, that he was among the persons who allegedly masterminded his (Ndebugre’s) defeat in the district level elections in the Timonde Electoral Area in the Upper East Region.
Speaking on an Accra-based radio station, Mr Ndebugre said among other things that "the Upper East regional representative of the Council of State who is also a bishop, an Anglican Bishop, went with food and drinks… and the bishop was nearly beaten and he ran for his life… I am saying it on authority; the bishop had to run for his life.”
But Reverend Dr Ayeebo, who is the Bishop Coadjutor of the Tamale Diocese of the Anglican Church, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, dismissed the claims and said he was in no way involved in the election process in the district as is being alleged by the ex-MP for Zebilla.
He said as a well respected opinion leader in the Bawku West district, there was no way anyone would chase him away not only in the district but in any other community in the Upper East Region and challenged the defeated assembly man and a former cabinet minister to prove the allegations.
Explaining what happened, the Bishop said in line with what he did annually, he organised a reception for his relations and church members at his family home in Kasongo on December 27, 2010, which was successful, after which everyone dispersed.
He stressed further that there was never an occasion where he was chased by anyone and what happened was only a family activity that ended peacefully.
Rev. Dr Ayeebo said on the day of the elections he was nowhere near the district as he was engrossed in work at the offices of the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO) in Bolgatanga of which he is the Executive Director.
He explained that as a clergyman, he recognised the fact that he was there for all and not for a section of the people. As such he did not engage in activities that would bring division among the people.
“Members of my flock belong to various persuasions and political parties and as a Bishop, I owe it to myself and the church to live above reproach. I will not do anything that will denigrate my reputation and bring unnecessary tension,” he said.
The Bishop has served in various capacities, including being the presiding member of the Bawku West District Assembly during the era of both the NPP and the current NDC administration.
He explained that based on his position as a well respected opinion leader in the district, the NPP administration appointed him as an assembly member and was later voted for by the house as the Presiding Member.
He said under the current NDC administration, he was again appointed an assembly member and later voted for as the Presiding Member until he contested for the slot as the regional representative of the Council of State.
He appealed to Mr John Ndebugre not to associate his failure to annex the Timonde Electoral Area seat to him but rather accept the outcome of the poll in good faith.
Mr Ndebugre was handed a political blow when 38-year-old Julius Ayaaba beat him to the assembly seat, and elections watchers have described his defeat as a major dent to his aspirations to contest the parliamentary seat on the ticket of the NPP to recapture the seat he lost to Mr Avoka, come 2012.