‘Blame Samia for collapse of CPP’

Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Samia Yaba Nkrumah has been blamed by party loyalists for the dwindling fortunes of the party in recent times.

Apart from the poor showing in the 2012 general elections, which resulted in her defeat as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro Constituency, party loyalists in the Western Region also blame her for the lack of unity in the party, which subsequently forced many stalwarts to abandon the party along the journey towards the 2012 elections, including the breakaway by members of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP), led by Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom.

Speaking to The Finder in an interview, members of the party claiming to be committed to the ideals of the first President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, stated that it would be disastrous for the CPP to allow Samia Yaba Nkrumah to attempt vying for the chairmanship position again.

Mr Moses Morkeh, an upset party member who spoke to the paper on behalf of the aggrieved members, described the current administration spearheading the leadership of the party as the worst group in history. “What we are saying is that the party is currently in a collapse state; it would take serious minds to revamp activities and reposition the party.

“Currently, what we are witnessing is poor organisation, but remember what Kwame Nkrumah once said: that organisation decides everything; so if we are not well organised, how can we position the party for political power?” he asked.

He explained that the circumstances surrounding the sudden exit from the party by some stalwarts were orchestrated by poor leadership led by Samia. This, he acknowledged, caused the poor performance of the party in the general elections in 2012.

He told the paper it would take overhauling to streamline activities in the party, reposition the left wing tradition, build the brand and maintain its philosophy as the nationalist platform that would work towards achieving political power for the ordinary Ghanaian.

Mr Morkeh challenged all members of the party claiming to be loyalists of the ideals of Dr Nkrumah to rise up and defend the legacy of the Pan Africanist. “All those claiming to be Nkrumaists must play their part; the party needs them today than ever before, else the legacy of the man would collapse on them. We must stand firm and work towards redeeming the image of his party (CPP),” he appealed.

Apart from Mr Morkeh and his group, the biological brother of Samia Nkrumah, Dr Sekou Nkrumah, has also used many media platforms to criticise his sister for the disunity in the party.

He openly chastised Samia for verbally abusing the likes of Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was among the stalwarts organising and financing activities, but subsequently had to leave the party.

When the PPP was formed, all billboards of Dr Nduom as the CPP flag bearer in the 2008 elections were changed to PPP colours and logo.

Mr Morkeh believes that affected the party gravely at the blind side of the leadership.

In addition, many party gurus who did not like the gymnastic dynasty type of leadership of Samia regrettably sat on the fence during the elections to watch the outcome, therefore compounding the dwindling electoral fortunes of the party.

At the end, it was the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) that gained significantly by wrestling the Jomoro seat and winning much of the presidential votes from the traditionally known CPP areas.