Zakaria Abdulai, the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, has resigned as the Juaben Constituency Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and withdrawn his candidature for the constituency chairmanship position amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving female students.
In a letter announcing his decision, Mr Abdulai said his resignation and withdrawal from the contest take immediate effect.
The development comes amid public scrutiny over allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him, which have prompted investigations by the Ghana Education Service (GES) and a referral to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Abdulai’s decision also follows deliberations by the NDC’s Functional Executive Committee (FEC) over his participation in the party’s ongoing constituency elections.
In a statement issued on Monday, October 19, the party said it had initially considered asking him to resign voluntarily or disqualifying him from the Juaben Constituency Chairmanship race.
However, after inviting him to present his side of the matter and considering reports from the GES committee, investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni and the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, the party decided not to disqualify him at that stage.
The NDC explained that its decision was informed by the principles of fairness, natural justice and the presumption of innocence while the allegations remained under criminal investigation.
Mr Abdulai has now opted to step down from his constituency secretary position and withdraw from the chairmanship contest.
In his resignation letter, he expressed gratitude to friends, relatives and well-wishers who had supported him during the controversy, particularly those who continued to believe in his innocence.
“I wish to express my profound gratitude to my friends, relatives, and all well-wishers who have stood by me and maintained their faith in my innocence in the face of the allegations levelled against me and my office.”
