There are clear indications that the Akufo-Addo faction in the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is not going to sit unconcerned for the ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor/Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen bloc of the party to make unnecessary noise with ‘unsubstantiated’ claims and getaway with them.
In the round up to the NPP Congress in Tamale to elect National Executives, the slogan of the John Kufuor/Alan Kyerematen group was “ye be gye yen party”(to wit, we are taking back our party.
The basis of the slogan was that the party has been given to the Akufo-Addo faction to try and win power for the NPP; and on two (2) occasions, the Akyem group worked hard to lose.
Now, a leading member of the NPP and a known Akufo-Addo loyalist, Brig-Gen J. Odei (Rtd), has been calling the bluff of the Kufuor/Alan group of the NPP as in an article published in the July 10, 2014 of the Daily Guide newspaper.
Described as a columnist, the retired General’s article headed “Who Owns The NPP” states; “Now let me attempt to answer the question as to who owns the party. The ownership issue has come about as a result of foul noises of “ye be gye yen party” (we want to claim our party) and from the Volta Region where similar noises of claiming “the soul of the party” were being touted by some party supporters prior to the Tamale Conference.
If my memory serves me right, these irritants started in 2000 after the NPP assumed power. At that time, the noise was (mo mfa mo party na yensoyenfa yen government) or take your party, and we also take our government.”
On the formation of the NPP, General Odei pointed out that “The NPP was formed as a true nationalist party with 130 founders, each founder representing one of the 130 districts of Ghana at the time of its formation. Seventy-five of these founders are alive today and, therefore, looking at the cross-section of dignitaries who made the formation of NPP a reality, it is naïve and preposterous for anyone to claim ownership of NPP.
The sad thing is that those who are making the claims are not bold enough to test the pulse or wrath of the people who really own the party.
Let me remind them that the party belongs to all party executives, non-executives and all the 4.9 million supporters who have voted and kept faith with the party in the last two electoral defeats.”
He also stated that, even though he received some harsh reactions from his earlier article headed ““Threat to NPP 2016 Victory- Remove The Wedge” published in the May, 07, 2014 of the Daily Guide (page 28 to be precise) for washing the NPP’s dirty linen in public, he stands vindicated per current developments in the party.
In defense of his decision, the retired General likens his stands to a woman being in labour and the joy of having a successful birth.
“Recent developments, however, have vindicated what I wrote and seem to suggest the execution of some agenda in line with what I wrote. To the teeming supporters who are worried about recent developments in the party, I ask them to be patient, calm and remain resolute because these events will soon pass under the bridge and will rather strengthen the party.
When NPP returned from Tamale after the Conference in April, I wrote an article entitled, “The Threat To NPP 2016 Victory – Remove the Wedge.” I received some unpleasant phone calls for washing the party’s dirty linen in public.
In fact, I did not see the dirt I was accused of washing – my only objective was to warn that the execution of the alleged planned schemes or intrigues will not succeed and will only hurt the party and muddy the road to victory.
I sought in my article to encourage the newly elected executives to pursue their noble objective of uniting the party which had been loudly trumpeted on the airwaves during the campaigns and victory speeches of the chairman and the general secretary.
Compare these developments to the pain a pregnant woman endures in labour which is replaced with joy when the baby is safely delivered,” Brigadier-General (Rtd) Odei unequivocally pointed out.
