General News of Friday, 5 August 2016

Source: peacefmonline.com

Bring back Afoko & others or forget about me - Agyepong

Kwabena Agyepong, Suspended General Secretary, NPP Kwabena Agyepong, Suspended General Secretary, NPP

Latest information reaching your authoritative Republic Newspaper has it that efforts by key loyalists of the standard bearer of the party, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, to re-instate the former General Secretary of the party has hit a crescendo.

This paper understands that a meeting was held between Mr. Kwabena Agyepong and the former Trades Minister Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku last week to discuss the return of Kwabena Agyepong to the party and what it will take for that to happen. The move has been confirmed by a leading member of the party in the Ashanti Region Mrs. Esther Agyemang who spoke to Accra-based Ahutor fm.

According to her, the one hour meeting ended inconclusively because Mr. Kwabena Agyepong gave conditions to be met before he agrees.

According to Mrs. Agyemang, the move to bring back Mr. Agyepong has become even more critical because the acting General Secretary is considering dropping his acting General Secretary Position to concentrate on his National Organizer position as he’s struggling to combine both roles.

”When they went there [to the meeting] Mr. Agyepong first of all wanted to find out from them why they had decided to come to him alone when indeed they were a group of people who had been treated unfairly and suspended illegally. Mr. Agyepong therefore told them that if indeed they want him back then they will have ensure that the other suspended national officers be brought back,” she told Ahutorfm

She said the NPP has made a big mistake by suspending the trio because it is having a serious toll on the political operations of the party.

“My party has made a big mistake and Nana Addo and his people know that but because of pride and lack of honesty they are unable to concede. It’s getting more and more serious by the day because NPP needs these gentlemen to prosecute an effective campaign but here we are we have such a bad leadership that I believe are in to do business and not to redeem us from the Mahama Administration. So here we are. I am not surprised John Boadu is already tired and has written to the party to relieve him of his duty as the acting general secretary of the party. He’s tired. How long can he continue to hold these two positions? I don’t know what we are going to do now because we are in crisis” Mrs. Agyemang added.

It will be recalled that this paper reported some months back that there’s a well calculated plan by Nana Akufo Addo and his Kyebi Mafia to heavily influence suspended General Secretary Kwabena Agyapong to resume his post.

The desperate decision follows agitations about the poor performance of John Boadu, the NPP’s National Organizer, who has been assigned additional responsibility to act as General Secretary following the suspension of Kwabena Agyepong.

Intel picked indicates that a certain Kwabena Aidoo who interestingly is benefiting from huge NDC Government contracts; is allegedly the one financing Kwabena Agyepong’s entry into Akufo-Addo’s Kyebi dominated NPP.

According to deep throat sources; the said Kwabena Aidoo is bragging that he has given Kwabena Agyepong $2.5 million to support Akuffo-Addo.

The latest development follows revelations that Nana Akufo Addo is fast losing grounds in NPP’s stronghold which is the Ashanti region because of how he and his loyalists have treated perceived supporters of former President Kufuor mainly in the region.

Many of those disappointed in the NPP are particularly angry with the intolerant flag bearer who has succeeded in kicking out some incumbent MPs from the 2016 parliamentary race and silenced other outspoken members of the party.

Sources close to the group indicate the agenda is to use Kwabena Agyapong to fight Kufuor’s Ashanti cabal. The plan according to sources is to use Kwabena Agyepong and dump him in the unlikely event that the NPP wins the 2016 elections.

It is interesting to note that former President John Agyekum Kufuor, party financier and former Chief of Staff, Kwadjo Mpiani and other founding members like Dr. Nyaho Nhyaho Tamakloe, Dr Charles Wereko Brobbey, Economist Kwame Pianim among several other NPP stalwarts have gone silent over recent developments in the party.

Nana Akufo Addo, now 72 is virtually deserted by some old guards after he and his Kyebi Mafia led by Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, Kwame Akuffo, Ken Ofori-Atta, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Amfo Kwakye, Nana Akomea, Atta-Akyea just to name a few seem to have taken charge of the elephant party. It will be interesting to note that this click has been severally referred to in Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s book “Chasing the Elephant into the Bush”

From page 53 to 56 of the 173 –page book, Dr. Kennedy wrote about the “Kyebi Mafia”, saying “If they really care about him, as much I presume they do, they would adjust their behavior accordingly, to make themselves and Nana Akufo-Addo more effective”.

Reports say one of the biggest challenges NPP is facing today is the difficulty in raising funds because the party is no longer attractive and Nana Akufo Addo is unable to embark on a vigorous campaign compelling running mate Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia to take charge.

Some Political analysts say NPP must prepare for another defeat if it fails to mend its cracks. Suspended National Chairman, Paul Afoko is in Court challenging the legal basis of the action taken by the party while 2nd Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe’s case is also in the pipeline.

With four months to the Presidential elections, NPP is yet to conduct outstanding Parliamentary elections in some constituencies. In a desperate attempt to prepare the minds of electorates for a defeat, the party has decided to discredit the national electoral body. Former Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr. Kwadjo Afari Gyan was first to receive the attacks. The party apparatchiks including pressure group, Let My Vote Count Alliance, Alliance for Accountable Governance and some friendly Civil Society groups joined efforts to tarnish the image of the his successor, Charlotte Osei after failing to push a dirty agenda to push for a new voters register.

Attempts to bring Kwabena Agyapong back after demonizing him branding him as an agent of the AGENDA 2020 looks quite interesting. John Boadu’s failure is an open secret but Kwabena Agyapong is likely to damage his political carrier should he accept the monetary influence. It will be an indictment of his integrity after the attacks incited by his own party members who branded him as an NDC mole.

This latest attempt is also meant to further alienate former chairman Paul Afoko who has gone public to state that Nana Akufo Addo is not his friend and not sure Nana will win the elections.

The Nana Addo-Kyebi Mafia is bent on destroying the J.A Kufuor influence and take over the party dominated by Ashantis.