A member of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government communications machinery, Godwin Ako-Gunn, has described the action by the Greater Accra Youth Wing calling for Nana Akufo-Addo to run unopposed as “selfish” and intended to do away with the practice of democracy in the country.

A group claiming to represent the Greater Accra Youth Wing of the NPP demanded that the party should not field any candidate apart from the 2012 presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for election 2016, and further called for the withdrawal of all competitors for the party’s presidential primary scheduled for December.

A Spokesperson for the group, Ben Owusu, who is a former NPP Youth Organizer in the Adenta Constituency, told Accra-based Joy FM that an open contest would amount to a waste of party resources and create acrimony that would hand the ruling NDC ammunition to defeat the NPP in 2016.

According to the group, an open competition might lead to resignations by some members of the party, as happened in 2007, and that could endanger the unity of the party ahead of the 2016 elections.

Speaking about the stance of the pro-Nana Addo group on Okay Fm’s Ghana Decides program, the NDC communicator averred he was certain that Nana Akufo-Addo paid and sponsored the press conference to silence competition.

“Due to selfishness and personal interest in NPP, people don’t care if the party collapses, but it is unfortunate to see this happening in NPP. Because, as a supporter of democracy, it is hurtful as Ghana will not be defined by only the performance of NDC in government, but in all opposition parties...I am not surprised that Nana Addo is now afraid of elections. This press conference was stage managed and paid for; it was strategic and has always been the same direction they have thread in the past…when people are afraid of elections they use the third factor, and that’s ways and means. If Nana Addo will not humble himself enough to lobby for others to step down for him, he could have appointed some people to do the lobbying for him to go unopposed and not in this style of a press conference,” he chided.