Trouble brews in NPP camp

The national secretariat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), which is currently plagued with confusion, following media reports of misunderstanding between its chairman and general secretary, has been hit by another brouhaha.

The acting Greater Accra regional chairman, Addai-Duah, whose office has been mandated to mediate disputes at the Ledzokuku constituency branch of the party, has not been spared the brunt of disgruntled youth allegedly drawing their power from and acting in the interest of Hon Eddie Akita, Deputy Defence Minister and Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku in the Greater Accra Region.

Addai-Duah and his regional executives have been a target of the angry youth, said to be close associates of Hon Akita and were recently physically assaulted at a constituency meeting at Teshie by a faction led by James Kotey, the constituency MP’s right hand man and close aide. Addai-Duah, in a petition to the constituency chairman and copied to the national chairman, blamed Hon Akita for acts of hooliganism.

Currently, the Ledzokuku constituency of the party is divided in two factions with one supporting the MP and the other, including the constituency chairman, opposing him. Chronicle gathered that Hon Akita has created a gap between himself and the constituency executives, resulting in open fights at constituency meetings between his faction and another. He has chosen to work with his hand-picked “executives” to the chagrin of the regional executives.

The problem was said to have been brought to the attention of the national chairman of the party, Harona Esseku, who ordered the regional secretariat to arbitrate but unfortunately, attempts by the acting regional chairman and his executives to settle the feud ended up with one faction physically attacking the regional secretariat.

An aggrieved regional chairman, Addai-Duah, informed the national secretariat of the factional threat being engineered by the MP and in a letter to the Ledzokuku constituency chairman blamed the mob action on what he stated as being “created by the MP’s new leadership.”

The letter dated 24 April 2002, partly stated, “One Mr Kotey led a group of party members numbering about 40 to my office-purposely to misbehave.” The regional chairman noted that again on 27 April, this year, he was again a victim of abuse, casting of insinuations and other indecent forms of degradation at a meeting that Kotey and his supporters attended uninvited. Addai-Duah said he was surprised that though the intrusion took place in the presence of the MP he did not show any sign of remorse or disapproval.

In another petition to Esseku, from the Ledzokuku constituency chairman on 19 September this year, Kwabena Fosuhene accused the MP of masterminding and encouraging acts of hooliganism against constituency executives.

According to the petition in spite of attempts by the national and regional secretariats to bring peace to the constituency, the MP and his group of supporters still encourage trouble and threaten the peace in the constituency.

It stated that after an arbitration meeting in April this year, at the residence of the Information Minister, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, a constituency meeting was called at the instance of the regional secretariat to inform party functionaries that all was well between the MP and the constituency executives.

“Unfortunately, this meeting which was meant to seal the peace, went bad, with supporters of the MP running riot, forcing proceedings to an abrupt end. Physically and verbally assaulting the regional executive officers, promising bloodshed in the constituency and vowing to rid the party of all non-Gas,” the petition stated.

The petition observed that all this happened in the presence of Hon Eddie Akita, who never voiced out a word of caution to reprimand his faction of supporters. “Rather, his passive conduct with a grin and elated face seemed like a signal to urge his hooligans.”