First Vice Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Fred Oware, has cautioned party members not to fuel the perceived tribal politics within the party.

He said such issues are unnecessary detraction by the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) aimed at breaking the ranks of the NPP, ahead of the 2016 general elections.

Fred Oware was reacting to an admission by former Attorney General, Nii Ayikoi Otoo that there is indeed and Asante-Akyem rivalry in the NPP. Ayikoi Otoo, who is also vying for the chairmanship slot said the non-Akans are like outcasts in the NPP.

The former Attorney General warned that the NPP risked losing the 2016 general elections if the rift between the Asante and Akyem factions for supremacy is not settled.

But speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday, Fred Oware described as worrying the continuous reference to the supposed “Asante-Akyem mafia” in the NPP because it is mere perception.

According to him, the Asante-Akyem faction within the NPP is part of NDC's propaganda just to divide the party’s front.

Fred Oware said the reference to the supposed rivalry between the Asante and Akyems in the NPP by key members give more credence to NDC’s propaganda that the NPP is an Akan party.

“Whilst the NPP is struggling to defuse the Akan party tag it has been branded by the governing National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) to give it an ethnic and geographical balance, some people rather make it worst”, he noted.

The aspiring chairman insists the NPP is a national party, which has representations from all the tribal groups in the country.

Fred Oware urged the NPP to remain focused and work hard to unseat the incompetent Mahama-led administration in 2016.