QUOTE
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are first hardwork, second stick to itiveness, third common sense” (Thomas A. Edison)
The NPP has been its own enemy for some time now and it was such a good news for some of us at the grass root when there was a near complete over haul at the very top where we had the likes of Jake, Sir John, Oware, Bamba, etc take a bow from office.

There has been a lot of negative campaign since then from disgruntled members who thought the abominable had happened. The following piece gives a few aspects of the self destructive happenings.

• PAUL AFOKO MAKING HIS INTENTIONS KNOWN

It was the first press conference after the congress and the chairman as it is expected of him as the new top man outlined some of the issues of the campaign.
He called for unity urging all party folks to come on board. He also announced the reconstitution of some internal bodies along with the party’s constitution a key aspect of which he mentioned the council of elders.
Perhaps a key aspect of the said press conference that has been the ignored in all this discussions about the pull him down syndrome that has bedeviled our party folks is the issue of the chairman calling himself the chairman and leader of the party which clearly is the party’s position.
It also a known fact that the reign of Chairman Jake saw him unofficially forfeiting the role as the party leader to the 2008-2012 flag bearer.
People closer to the party’s flag bearer who saw their choice for the chairmanship unable to topple the incumbent saw it as an opportunity to propagate their already unsustained agenda to make the chairman unpopular.
But let’s face is it not the party’s constitution that allows the chairman to hold the positions of both chairman and leader in the absence of a flag bearer.
• RECONSTITUTING THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS
This in itself brought its own problems because the chairman believes a strong chairman within a weak party is unlikely to succeed so the idea to re constituting the council of elders to give it some semblance of regional balance will be a step in the right direction in giving the party a new image. Of course a branded one as he promised.
During all this times all that the party key stakeholders wanted was a date fixed for an early congress. Even the key issue of the Electoral Commission’s impending national registration has not been given the needed attention.
We are told of a meeting at Alisa hotel where there was a heated debate on the issue of maintaining the same members of the council of elders.
Key names that popped out as clearly opposing the chairman’s view of having it reconstituted include Nana Akuffo Addo, Freddie blay and Osei kyei Mensa Bonsu.
They supported this view by saying that the election of the national executives would be illegitimate because those that constitute the council of elders also voted in the very same election that brought them to power but that point is a mute one considering the fact that the council of elders positions was not part of the ballot and is it not fair that a candidate that campaigned on doing the right thing in terms of the party constitution should not begin to shows signs of the resolve to live by that standards or is it the case that people want us to believe that the council elders are untouchables or that the position is an eternal one.





• THE ISSUE OF COURT INJUNCTION AND THE SO CALLED AGENDA 2020
This issue was largely propounded by supporters of some candidates during the party’s internal elections to elect its leaders.
The issues they raised for their agenda 2020 was that the very two at the top the chairman and the general secretary seems to have an agenda to put things in place to undermine Nana Akuffo Addo who has been described as a lead runner for the party’s flag bearership in order to prevent him from winning the 2016 elections.
The fact still remains that in our part of the developing world it is not difficult for an underperforming and unperforming government to still buy its way to stay in power.
So really the issue is about unity of purpose to fight for the common good.
It’s also a fact that the no NPP member has been chairman for two times so to think that someone in his or her right thinking self will seem to suggest somebody will want his party to lose during their reign as the top two in order to stay in opposition is very absurd to say the least.
Some key personnel including Bugri Naabu and Justice Annan currently working for choice fm were vociferous on this issue. The former and some emissaries went as far as trying to take petitions from regional and constituency chairmen to present a vote of no confidence in the chairman. This was largely supported by the likes of Freddie Blay in order for him to take over. Bugri Naabu should know respect is earned and not bought. As such we will feed him with the same spoon with which he is using to feed the chairman. He should stop wasting our ears!
This infamous statement at one of the meetings to quote “let him leave I will chair the meeting” seems to suggest that mind set.(Freddie Blay)
There is sanity now that the attempt had been made at electing the members of council of elders. I believe it will improve the next time around to forestall any court injunctions as did happen before people began to see the logic in doing the right things.

• CANDIDATES LINING UP IN THEIR NUMBERS TO PICK AND SUBMIT FORMS TO LEAD THE PARTY
It’s been difficult for some party members who thought that the experience of the parties two time flag bearer should make him automatic ascender to the position of a flag bearer to accept the fact that people have actually accepted to compete him and in numbers that run up to seven.
The suggestion not to allow completion does not sound logical. For goodness sake this is a party that prides itself as the forbearers of Ghana’s democracy.
As a result it will be untenable to suggest that people should be gagged or stampeded out of a process in which they believe they qualify for.
The key problem is that once they feel they are not needed in the party it becomes difficult to call for unity and the results of that will be very huge as compared to when they are allowed to exercise their right.
Silence is golden they say so my advice to some of the very respected members of the party who might want to be addressed as such should begin to watch the way they talk on some of these issues.
Those of them that would cry over mere accusation of embezzlement on national TV should know better than that.
To try to verbally discourage candidates that are exercising their right to stop wasting people’s time is not in order.
Some party members precisely on social media including No Nana no vote, CONAA, FONAA, NAFOP seem to be supporting division in the party not for supporting Nana Akuffo Addo but suggesting that he ought not to be competed.
Indeed CONAA president Hopeson Adorye is suggesting to its members to defect should Nana lose and what seems to have informed this decision is because Alan Kyeremanten offered to establish a bank for the party and pay party executives at all levels.
It is true that a lot of the grass root support Nana but who says that Nana cannot loose. If they want to help Nana the best they could do for him will be to propagate what he has brought on board and what he intends to add to it. Nana as a leader should begin to call them to order because most people are finding it inaccessible to get close to him.
• FIGHT FOR THE SOUL OF THE PARTY
We understand from the foregoing that the people are really fighting for the soul of the party because they are not able to manipulate the executives as they did in the Jake administration.
The party will also want as much as possible not to support the parallel system of running a campaign team of a flag bearer and that of the party. It is true that it has become a convention for most parties but truly it doesn’t promote an all hands on deck approach to the campaign because immediately the candidates campaign team leaves a particular constituency the members exhibit a lackadaisical approach to maintaining the same momentum to the campaign but once it is controlled by the constituency executives they feel a part and they are able to maintain the same drive.
These same people who are still fighting for the soul of the party were the same people who could not account for party resources.
Is it not strange that the NPP cannot trace the over 150 cars that the party owns. It also known that most of the vehicles are registered in the name of the some bank owner and some other person.
Some party executives print the constitution and sells for their own pocket. Even membership cards are registered with laptops in the name of some executives without recourse to the party structures.
These monies are pocketed and only a small portion paid to the party accounts. Indeed these are spent forces who have outlived their usefulness at the helm of affairs and surely we won’t allow them to meddle in how the party is run. They’ve had their time.
• SETTING A DATE FOR THE ELECTION
The special congress by the super delegates to trim the candidates to five for the main election has been set for 30th August 2014 and 18th October 2014 respectively.
It will be advisable in these moments to advise delegates and party stakeholders alike to be circumspect in their discourse and to show maximum respect to all and sundry and allow the delegates to decide.
To the journalists that came into the NPP fold out of opportunism but with an agenda to continue to strengthen their sensationalist, speculative and rumour mongering approach to journalism; they should know that there is always a time to scatter what has been gathered. We may not control affairs but we do have a voice and it will be heard whatever way possible.
Alas the proponents of early congress have won but it is a victory for democracy and I believe that once the right structures are in place it should not be difficult for the party to bounce back and united for victory 2016.
Long live the N.P.P long live Ghana.
NII DOKU (mondinas@yahoo.com) 0268526306