THE General Secretary of the Convention People?s Party (CPP), Dr Nii Noi Dowuona has said the party?s position to organise a national delegates congress to elect national executive officers and a flagbearer for the 2004 polls remains unaltered.

He has, therefore, urged the rank and file members to ignore and disregard with contempt opinions and positions of individuals or self-styled groups which do not reflect those of the party.

Dr Dowuona said this in an interview in Accra yesterday in reaction to calls by certain leading personalities of the CPP that the party should abandon the idea of electing a flagbearer to contest the next polls.

The CPP General Secretary described as preposterous such comments which he claimed go a long way to cause mass disaffection and anxious moments for the party?s leadership and rank and file at a time that it has spent time, energy and resources in an attempt to rebuild its structures and forge unity with other Nkrumaist parties to contest the next elections.

Dr Dowuona said the leadership of the CPP strongly believes that there are motives behind such utterances, stressing that ?it is an irony that personalities who style themselves as having the CPP at heart continue to sound the alarm bells which seems to suggest that the party lacks the guts, acumen and organisational skills to contest both the presidential and parliamentary seats in the 2004 elections?.

He said the CPP has positioned itself in readiness to contest the next elections, stressing that ?we will not be distracted by such unsavoury comments but remain fully committed to prosecute our programmes intended to re-assert ourselves on the country?s political scene?. Dr Dowuona cautioned members of the party to decline being collaborators with political forces whose long term interests have been to ensure the fragmentation and disintegration of the CPP.

?The leadership would also advise our members to desist from making comments which do not represent the position of the party. Members should utilise channels available in the party to put across their suggestions and grievances and stop making unguarded statements, especially on the air which run contrary and are inconsistent with our constitution,? the CPP General Secretary said.