Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Nana Akomea has disclosed that Monday’s Steering Committee Meeting, which has courted controversy as a result of the absence of the National Chairman and the General Secretary, was originally scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 12.

“[But] it would be too late to call a meeting on the 12th as was originally scheduled,” Nana Akomea said, citing the fact that the Meeting was centered on the vetting of parliamentary aspirants of the party.

The nationwide vetting commenced on Monday and are scheduled to end on Thursday, May 7. Results are expected to be announced on Friday.

Speaking on TV3’s Midday Live on Tuesday, Nana Akomea discounted allegations that the absence of the Chairman and the General Secretary evinces the perception of factionalism within the largest opposition party.

He explained that the National Chairman, Paul Afoko, was out of the country while the General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong, was out of the capital city of Accra.

“Everybody who was to attend the meeting was duly notified and duly informed,” he stressed, adding that a quorum was exceeded by the attendance of nine members including party leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He pointed out that it was within the constitutional rights of the First National Chairman to call for the Meeting in the absence of the Chairman.

The Meeting assigned national officers to supervise the vetting processes in each region.