A former presidential aspirant of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Dan Botwe says leaders of the party, who are busily lobbying for the 2016 flagbearer slot for their preferred candidate, are noise makers who want to be seen as working.

“…It’s now an avenue for cheap popularity and making noise”, the Okere Member of Parliament told XYZ Breakfast Sow host Moro Awudu Monday September 9, 2013.

According to him, some of those involved in the debate “think that they have to place themselves to be seen as working”.

“…Other than that, some of the discussions are unnecessary and they are also even at times unhealthy,” he stressed.

Without mentioning any specific names, the former General Secretary of the NPP urged those involved in the media war to down their armoury and allow the party structures and systems to work.

The debate started last week after General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, told XYZ News in an interview that twice-defeated presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will definitely run for the 2016 elections, even though the former Attorney General has yet to make any such public statement.

The comment by Sir John, as Mr. Owusu Afriyie is popularly known, has attracted both support and condemnation.

While he has found allies in the party’s Ashanti regional Chairman, F.F. Anto and founder-member Dr. Kwame Amoako-Tuffuor, other party stalwarts such as former Presidential Aspirant, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku - who is perceived to be still nursing a presidential ambition - have condemned Sir John for “jumping the gun” and showing disregard to “alternative views” in the party, as far as the subject is concerned.