NPP members encouraged to engage in healthy political competition
A founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has urged his colleague party members contesting for various positions in the party to ensure clean campaign free from unhealthy rivalry.
Mr George Ayisi-Boateng said they should not do anything to threaten or undermine the unity and integrity of the party.
They had to be mindful of the things they said about the other contestants, he said, warning that mud-throwing could come back to haunt the NPP and wreck its electoral chances.
His call came on the heels of an alleged uncomplimentary remarks made about the party’s 2012 presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, by Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku in Kumasi at the weekend.
Dr Apraku was reported to have publicly attacked Nana Akufo-Addo’s credentials to lead the NPP to victory in 2016, having twice failed to win power and asked for his rejection at the party’s presidential primary election.
He was claimed to have presented himself at a meeting with past members of the NPP Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON) as a unifier who could bring electoral victory.
Mr Ayisi-Boateng said it was obvious Dr Apraku had strong ambition to become the flag-bearer and that nobody could begrudge him for that.
He said his discomfort was, however, with the “betrayal of faith and insincerity”, especially after Nana Akufo-Addo had appointed him as his Campaign Manager in 2008, despite contesting him at the presidential primary poll.
Again, he was made the Head of Security of the party’s 2012 election campaign by the very same person.
He questioned why Dr Apraku readily accepted to serve in those positions when he knew the candidate was “not a good one and would be a difficult sale” to the electorate.
Attacking the integrity and personality of people just to make them look bad for political convenience was awful and not honourable, he said.
He said most Ghanaians saw the Supreme Court’s proceedings live on television and had their own ideas about the polls outcome and that there should not be any illusion that Nana Akufo-Addo, would be the man to beat in 2016.
Source: GNA