LET’S CEASEFIRE

-Dr Annor urges NPP feuding parties

Kwabena Amankwah

The Eastern Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Dr Samuel Annor, at the weekend made a passionate appeal to the feuding parties in the controversies in the New Juaben North and Abuakwa North constituencies to ceasefire and come together in pursuit of the party’s broad agenda of staging a successful comeback to power in 2012.

Speaking in an interview, he particularly urged his party people to allow compromises to prevail, instead of taking entrenched positions, to help ensure amicable settlement of the controversies arising out of the disputed alleged fraudulent elections in the two constituencies.

Dr Annor pledged his personal commitment to tackling the problem, to ensure that the two constituencies were not denied the right to take part in the impending August 7 Congress to elect the party’s presidential candidate for the 2012 elections.

“I want to urge all party members who are part of the problems to bury their differences, and join hands to make sure there is peace and harmony in the constituencies and in the entire Eastern Region.”

The Regional Chairman denied claims that he was behind the problems in the New Juaben North constituency, and that the constituency had never known peace since he joined it.

He also rubbished claims that he could be a mole of the ruling National Democratic Congress because he had been with the party in the past, insisting “there is no iota of truth in that claim.”

The allegations were made by Hon. Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Member of Parliament for New Juaben North, in an interview with this reporter when his views were sought on the controversy in the constituency.

“How can anybody think of me as a mole in a party in which I have gone through the ranks to become a Regional Chairman? In any case, if Hackman knew I was an NDC man why did he allow me to meet President Kufuor and himself as Foreign Minister in South Africa in 2001 during their maiden visit there? It was even my daughter who organized a bouquet of flower for the President and I spoke on behalf of the Ghanaian delegation that met them. If he knew I was NDC member, why did he allow me to shoulder that responsibility? This tells you there is no iota of truth his claim,” Dr Annor stated.

According to the NPP Chairman, the problem in the New Juaben North constituency is the result of Mr Owusu Agyeman’s resistance to his desire to make sure the right thing is done.

“I always want to ensure that the right thing is done,” he stressed, adding that “the culture of election” had, for instance, been foreign to the constituency, and that it was the resistance of the MP to democratic principles that had been the cause of the problems in the constituency.

Dr Annor further denied allegations that he put out people to contest the New Juaben North seat as independent candidates in the 2008 elections. “I was everywhere in the Region with Nana Akufo-Addo, spending my resources to help the campaign. How can I turn round to sponsor independent candidates against my own party?” he wondered.

On the attempt to annul elections in the constituency, he insisted the decision was not taken by him alone, explaining “the fact that some of my executives were against it does not mean it was my personal decision.”

Contrary to perceptions, the Chairman told this reporter there was no bad blood between him and the rest of the executive.

“We may have our differences, but that does not mean somebody is not cooperative; it is the majority decision that is always allowed to prevail and that is all that democracy is about,” he noted.

Dr Annor rejected claims that his actions were inimical to the forward march of the party in the Region, and that he was causing problems as part of efforts to advance his parliamentary ambition.

He gave the assurance that as the Regional Chairman he would not do anything to undermine the progress of the party.