NPP campaign cars missing; Akufo-Addo team fingered

It is official! The largest opposition party in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP,) is broke and it is becoming difficult to gather the needed logistics for campaign in 2016.

The level of poverty that is enveloping the Elephant (which is the emblem of NPP,) fraternity Today gathers, is so severe that any elected presidential hopeful would find it difficult to campaign effectively, let alone win power as vehicles to be used on the campaign trail are missing.

A hundred and fifty (150) Pick-ups, forty (40) SUVS and ten (10) salon cars, all used during the 2012 campaign, the paper gathered, are missing.

The paper’s source at the party’s headquarters revealed that at the first National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the new executives, it emerged that all the vehicles for the party’s 2012 campaign were bought and registered in the name of a private holding company even though the bills were sent to the party for settlement.

The source and other insiders in the party all point accusing fingers at the office of the 2012 flag-bearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, whom they claimed managed the assets of the party abysmally, making the NPP run into debts amounting to several millions of Ghana cedis.

“What is worse is the fact that the new executives of the party did not inherit even a push truck from the old executives….,” our source said.

The source’s fear is corroborated by evidence to the effect that the Afoko-led executive was hardly handed any detailed report on the state of the party with a half-page report read by former treasurer, Mrs. Esther Ofori.

She could however not be blamed for not offering a better report, as she hardly received any money or disbursed any money during the campaign.

“All traffic flowed in the direction of the flag-bearer’s camp and that we were virtually redundant as party executives,” a member of the old executive was quoted as saying during a meeting with the new ones.

Thus, attributing the gross mismanagement to Nana Addo’s office which the source said relegated to the background, the formal structures of the party during the 2012 electioneering campaign.

Nana Addo’s office is alleged to have received campaign funds and expended the same on behalf of the party.

When contacted, a member of the previous administration and former General Secretary, Lawyer Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, refused to comment on the issue and instead referred the paper to the current general secretary, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyapong.

However, Mr. Agyapong’s phone was off and a text message sent to him in regard to the story had not been answered to as of press time.

Our source indicated that it was not surprising that Nana Addo who was at the meeting reportedly advised the new executives to meet with two of his cousins to sort out the matter (of the missing cars).

Surprisingly, there is enormous pressure on the new executives to open nominations for the flag-bearership position ostensibly as a ploy to shift the power base of the party to the flag-bearer’s camp.

This is despite the fact that the party is yet to reconstitute its NEC which is mandated by the party’s constitution to give national executives orders to start the process of choosing the next flag-bearer.

The national executives further argue that in view of the EC’s decision to start the registration exercise this June, if nominations of the flag-bearership are opened now, it will distract party officials from focusing on the voters register.

Be it as it may, a former national executive member has advised the national executives to do what they can as “you have only six months to do what you want to do.”

“After that when the flag-bearer is elected, everything will go to his camp and you will have nothing to do,” the former national executive member continued.