Assembly members of the Yendi Municipal Assembly have rejected President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s Municipal Chief Executive nominee for the area, Alhaji Ahmed Yussuf Abubakar.

The assembly members, at an election to approve or reject the nominee on Friday, September 24, 2021, did not give the Alhaji Abubakar the adequate number of votes to get him approved.

Of the 41 assembly members who voted, only 21 voted in favour of the nominee, while the remaining 20 rejected his nomination.

Nominees are expected to get at least two-thirds of the total votes cast to be confirmed.

Alhaji Abubakar was nominated by President Akufo-Addo despite the recommendation of Zakaria Abubakari Saddiq to the president by the vetting committee.

Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Minister, Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has described the failure to confirm the nominee as an unfortunate development, saying he never expected it.

He pleaded to the assembly members that the man has been in office, and they should have overwhelmingly given him their votes.

The failed MCE nominee described the development as unfortunate, saying he would re-strategize ahead of another election.

If the assembly members reject the nominee in two extra elections, President Akufo-Addo must replace him with another nominee.

The Minister for Local Government, Dan Botwe last Sunday announced the list of President Akufo-Addo’s nominees to fill the 260 Metropolitan Municipal and District Assembles (MMDCEs).

Of the 260, 125 are MMDCEs who were already in office and were put forward to be retained while 135 were new entrants.

In terms of gender distribution, 222 were males and 38 were females.