It was least expected that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 7th December, 2016 general elections could easily win the most heated and titanic presidential contest convincingly with over one million votes. The New Patriotic Party (NPP), in spite of the many challenges they encountered after peacefully and successfully electing their national executives in the northern region in their last National Delegates Congress was able to mercilessly humiliate the NDC government.

It was difficult for a party in opposition to have taken such a bold decision to suspend the Party’s three most influential top officials who occupied the following positions that is the National Chairman, General Secretary and the second vice-chairman indefinitely that gave room for their political opponents (NDC) to tag them as the most disintegrated political party Ghana has ever had. The outcome of the election was a clear violation of the assertion that the party was in disarray.

This unprecedented feat achieved by the party in 2016 was made possible by the good and quality leadership skills exhibited by Mr. Freddie Blay who made sure he put in place a mechanism that would help the party win OneTouch to set a record as the only party to make a sitting president to be one term president which has gone into the Guinness Book of Records.

As many politicians have been saying “staying in opposition is a hell” and it will be a great mistake for our great party to change our winning team as at the time we want to strengthen our chances of retaining power in 2020 to bring the lost smiles on the faces of Ghanaians will be disastrous.

I want our delegates to put their feet in the shoes of a football coach who had an injured player who could not play the final match and the player who replaced him played much better than him to clinch victory for the team. If I may ask them, would they drop their replacement simply because the injured player is fully fit?

The fact that a particular candidate has contested several times for the chairmanship position does not mean he should be considered ahead of someone who has had the chance to prove his leadership qualities as more than capable to protect the power he helped NPP to attain when Ghanaians did not give the party a dog chance to win the 2016 general elections hands down.

Our government is delivering its promises one by one in less than two years in the reins of government all because it has sound and peaceful support from the acting chairman, Freddie Blay, and his competent team and we don’t need a soothsayer to come and tell us maintaining him will help move our party and government forward. The acting chairman of our great party has done a yeoman’s job and deserves the best of appreciation from the party’s delegates whom he humbly and diligently served.

We have seen lots of people who were privileged to step into the shoes of their leaders in their absence and had failed woefully. For the acting chairman, Freddie Blay, our delegates would attest to the fact that his ability to maintain peace and order in our party as at the time the good people of Ghana were asking questions as to whether the NPP was prepared and ready to take over the mantle from the NDC whom majority of Ghanaians were sick and tired of their abysmal performance in government.

The New Patriotic Party is blessed and fortunate to have equally good personalities but the truth of the matter is that the man they are contesting is tried and tested and has what it takes to take our great party to another level. He believed in the fact that in every football team, the assistant coach must be equally good and competent as the head coach that was why our great party did not remain in opposition.

He is very gentle, humble, respectful, compassionate and approachable and he is quicker to hear and slower to talk; that is a hallmark of a good leader. He is not the type that will wash the party’s dirty linen outside for our opponents to capitalize on it to set an agenda for us to create confusion in our party to be knocking our heads here and there.

By the party’s constitution, he being the first vice-chairman was to act on behalf of the suspended chairman and that was a test he went through and judging from the outcome of the election result every Tom, Dick and Harry in NPP knows if we are to grade his brilliant performance in percentage wise he will not get anything less than 96% of which his competitors from within their hearts and minds knows that he deserves that more than that percentage.

We believe in democracy that is why we have allowed other people to contest him despite his outstanding performance so that our great party will continue to remain a peaceful and a united front. As the saying goes in our Akan language “dej oforo dua pa na yj pia no” meaning “whoever climbs a fruitful tree is the one that needs a push”.The acting chairman deserves nothing than a massive vote from our delegates to prove to his competitors that hardwork pays.

The delegates must have this at the back of their minds that the choice they will make on the day of the election will surely determine the future of our party and its chances in 2020. They must shun the issue of ‘I came to the party before him and I have contested on many occasions so it is my time and for that matter I should be given the nod’. No matter how it is, all of us cannot join the party at the same time.

It is clear that the early bird has caught the early worm and it is as simple as it happened in the Holy Bible where Paul the apostle came later but what he did supersede the earlier apostles. Freddie Blay’s hardwork puts him ahead of his competitors. Freddie Blay had proven beyond all reasonable doubt he believes in teamwork and that was why we did not hear he is fighting or quarreling with his subordinates.

All over the world when it comes to politics cohesion is very vital and must be taken into consideration as we go in to choose our national chairman in Koforidua come July, 2018 if we want the party to continue to enjoy the peace we have gotten. Let’s remember the devil we know is better than the angel we don’t know. We have an acting chairman who sees himself as nothing before God and man and also believes in the fact that peace is being able to love one another.

The delegates must from now on turn to their left, right, front and back and see if there is any contestant more competent than Freddie Blay who has all it takes as a leader to take us to 2020 battle as a force to reckon with as the only political party which does not make empty promises to the good people of Ghana. Maintaining Freddie Blay who has worked tirelessly will go a long way to better our chances of retaining power come 2020. To all NPP delegates, a word to the wise is enough. God bless us all.

Michael Kessey – Akissiway

(Sports Analyst)

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