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

According to him, the former Attorney General, Lawyer Nii Ayikoi Otoo’s recent comments that there is a bitter rivalry between the Akyem’s and the Ashanti’s in the NPP was “unfortunate” and must be treated with the contempt it deserves.

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.

Ayikoi Otoo, who is vying for the chairmanship slot courted controversy earlier this week when he stated that non-Akans are like outcasts in the NPP. He thus warned that the NPP risked losing the 2016 general elections if the situation was not dealt with immediately.

But speaking on Asempa FM, Fred Oware, who is also aspiring to be NPP's National Chairman, advised that, ahead of the party’s national executives’ election, party frontrunners should be cautious with their choice of words so as not to play into the hands of the ruling party.

“What I can tell is the NDC is better known for propaganda. So if you are a leading member in the NPP and you also go by what the NDC is saying about the NPP, then it’s a problem. He, (Ayikoi Otoo) am sure will think about what he said and will retract because that will not help the party, he should be left alone to brood seriously about what he said.

“…We don’t have any Akyem mafia and Ashanti mafia in the NPP. Tribalism will rather destroy the NPP, so Ayikoi Otoo should come again. No one is restricted from talking, but when your comments are awful, there is a need to retract,” he opined.

Nonetheless, he assured that, “party leaders will not summon him (Ayikoi Otoo) for queries though his comments are unacceptable”.