Friday, 13 December

NPP not hijacked by some elders, leaders, gov't appointees - Party rebuffs Alan's claim

Politics
Justin Frimpong Kodua

The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has not been "hijacked" byna select few as claimed by recently-resigned flagbearer aspirant and member Alan Kyerematen.

 

In his resignation speech on Monday, 25 September 2023, Mr Kyerematen said the NPP has been “hijacked by a selected group of party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers”.

In a rebuttal press conference on Tuesday, September 26, General Secretary Justin Koduah responded: "The leadership of the party equally disagrees with assertions made by Mr. Kyerematen on page eight of his resignation address that, ‘the party has been hijacked by a selected group of party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers’.”

“Guided by facts and data, the leadership of the Party disagrees entirely with this assertion. Historically, the selection of flagbearers for political parties in Ghana had been the preserve of a privileged few until the New Patriotic Party took the bold decision to decentralise the process by expanding its electoral college to enfranchise some One Hundred and Six Thousand, Five-Hundred and Ninety (106,590) delegates in 2010.”

He added, “Currently, about Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates would be voting to select the Party’s next flagbearer relative to the estimated One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight delegates (1,998) who did same in 1992. Clearly, the quantum leap to Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates in 2023 underscores the decentralization of power to all Party stakeholders and defeats the assertion that the Party has been hijacked by a privileged few”.

In reference to Mr Kyerematen’s concerns, which include allegations of intimidation against his supporters, Mr Koduah said: "It is noteworthy that certain government appointees, including cabinet ministers, who openly declared their support for him are still at post and have never been intimidated".

Source: Classfmonline.com