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Opinions of Friday, 26 June 2015

Columnist: Appiah-Osei, Lawrence

The NPP Is A Terrible Political Party.

I can say on authority that the New Patriotic Party is a terrible political party. The reason I say this is that, the NPP took Ghana to the Supreme Court and wasted all of our time for 8 good months. At the end of the day, the very reasons why they took Ghana to the Supreme Court were all seen in their just ended parliamentary elections.
One of the main reason why the NPP wasted Ghana’s 8 months at the Supreme Court was that they alleged there was rigging in the 2012 Presidential elections. They claimed the voters register was blotted. In other words, the voters register had some names or information which should not be there. Unfortunately, in their parliamentary primaries on June 13, 2015, Former MP for Asokwa and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Maxwell Kofi Jumah was arrested, handcuffed, sent to court and given bail the next day because he claimed the voters register used for the elections (album) was blotted, altered or contained some names or information which should not be there. Exhibit 1.
The MP for Weija/Gbawe constituency in the Greater Accra region, Rosemond Comfort Abrah who failed to retain her seat against Tina Naa Ageley Mensah also alleged that a different voter register (album) had been used for the voting process. She shouted “they have stolen it, they used a different album. Thieves, thieves….......... I am not accepting the results. Tina Mensah hasn’t won. They used a different album for the voting” Exhibit 2.
At another incident at the Ashaima constituency, Thomas Adongo, a parliamentary aspirant also alleged rigging. This is what he said when he was interviewed on Joy News on June 15, 2015. “It is very very high that Adongo will be going as an independent candidate; not just an independent candidate but I am going to make sure that the right thing is implemented for the party at the National, right down to the constituency level, to know that some silly person is causing this problem to come” He vowed that if anybody that dares to pronounce a winner, we will proceed to court. Exhibit 3.
Another reason why NPP wasted Ghana’s 8 months of our time was that they alleged there was over-voting in the 2012 Presidential elections and therefore appealed to the Supreme Court to annul 4 million valid votes so that Nana Akufo-Addo will be declared President of Ghana. Now there was the same over-voting in their internal parliamentary elections at Nhyiaeso in the Ashanti Region.
It was reported on myjoyonline.com that Mr. Stephen Amoah, one of the aspirants, who looked confused over the development, claimed the EC official confirmed there was over-voting by 2, and promised to join any action that would be taken by other aspirants to seek justice. Exhibit 4. This is the constituency that Dr. Richard Anane lost the elections to Kennedy Kankam. I want readers to note that even though it was very clear that there was over-voting at Nhyiaeso, the NPP gladly accepted the results because an Alan man, Dr. Richard Anane lost the primaries.
The NPP had said that going into the 2016 elections, they will tell Ghanaians to vote according to their present situations. They say, they will educate Ghanaians not to accept monies from the NDC because if they allow themselves to be bought with money, they would have sold their conscience to the NDC for 4 years. If somebody tells you this, you don’t expect any monies to be going around in their parliamentary primaries, because those who are accepting the bribe are also Ghanaians, right?
Fortunately or unfortunately, “A leading member of the NPP and former General Secretary of the party, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, aka “Sir John” has decried what he says was the high level of “monecracy” exhibited by the party’s delegates and parliamentary aspirants in last weekend’s primaries” Exhibit 5 The above statement was quoted from Kasapafmonline.com. Sir John said “delegates were given monies to the tune of GHC700.00 to vote for their preferred candidates. He continued to say that he has urged the party’s leaders to get this situation checked as they begin to launch a campaign for a Nana Addo victory in 2016. What a joke! Now the NPP has become a party of talkatives and jokers.
The NPP who prides itself of having the men and women to turn things around in Ghana in 2016 forgot themselves and voted for a 22-year old novice, Francisca Oteng-Mensah to be their parliamentary candidate for the Kwabre East constituency in the Ashanti Region. Again Sir John said on Kasapafmonline.com that the young lady was a novice who would need help in appealing to the larger populace. He said “we will have to train her. She is a novice. We will have to help her even in terms of taking her around to the chiefs and opinion leaders and all that” Exhibit 6.
As you read some of the things that happened in the NPP during their parliamentary elections, don’t you see that the NPP is a terrible political party? In fact, if you think you are dreaming, you are not. All what you read above happened in the party called the New Patriotic Party of Ghana. The party of the Akan/Akyem factions; the party also known as Acid throwing party; and the party of all die be die.
Ladies and gentlemen, let’s be serious. Did the NPP not take Ghana to the Supreme Court and wasted 8 months of our time because they alleged the 2012 elections were rigged, the voters register was blotted and over-voting? So why did they allow the same things to happen in their own internal elections? Don’t you see again that the NPP wasted of Ghana’s time was not because they wanted to correct some mistakes or they wanted the general good of the country? It was all just to waste our precious time, to make the country ungovernable and to break down the economy of Ghana so everybody will suffer. Once they achieve that, they turn around and call the country a “bitter Ghana” and then ask for your vote. They do this because they see you as someone who has no brains. In other words, someone who is stupid and cannot think for yourself. This is why they say just vote for me because you are poor. Most of the problems of rigging in the parliamentary elections happened in Ashanti Region but did you see even one pink sheet from the Ashanti Region during the 2012 time-wasted election petition at the Supreme Court? This should tell you the evil characteristics of the current Nana Akufo-Addo’s NPP.
By the way, has the folks in the NPP figured out why the 22-year old novice, Francisca Oteng-Mensah went and separately greeted Nana Akufo-Addo and President Kuffour? She didn’t greet Nana Addo because he is the flag bearer and she didn’t greet President Kuffour because he is a former President. She greeted them separately because each of them is a King in their respective factions. Why did Nana Addo who said he is not corrupt and will not accept corrupt politicians in his government, accept to have pictures taken with Francisca, when he (Nana) knows that Francisca won the elections through corrupt means, including attaching curses to the bribe she gave to the delegates to vote for her.
Finally, why are Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong still working from alternate work place, instead of the party headquarters? Why does Nana Akufo-Addo think he will win the general elections when his Chairman and General Secretary are not effectively working? Is he not helping with the Agenda 2020 campaign? When Sir John and Jake were fully working at the party headquarters, Nana Addo could only secure 47% of the valid votes. So why can’t he convince himself that he has already lost the 2016 elections? Under the able leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP has been reduced to a party of corruption, confusion, recklessness, uselessness, visionless, leaderless, meaningless, purposeless, and talkatives. Still wise men don’t join the NPP; NPP easily throws acid on their members and Northerners never become their flag bearer. They make them Vice and when it is time for them to shine, they throw them away. Do you remember the agony of Alhaji Aliu Mahama? (May his soul rest in perfect peace)
Can you believe they are a party that think you should belong to a certain tribe before you can become President of Ghana? When you holistically look into the affairs of the NPP, you can see that it is a terrible, terrible political party. It is better they are kept in the bush for another century or so. Seriously, we don’t need them for anything. They are not only dangerous, but they are poisonous as well.
Lawrence Appiah-Osei (Protocol)
Chairman
Friends of John Dramani Mahama (USA Chapter)
Appiah65@Hotmail.com or 703-400-1621