Politics of Sunday, 22 December 2013

Source: peacefmonline.com

Mornah blasts NPP over Apraku’s invitation

People’s National Convention (PNC) General Secretary, Bernard Mornah, has asked the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to go back to the days “where varied opinions are listened to in the party”.

His opinion comes in the wake of various happenings in the NPP which has led to party kingpins being invited to the party’s headquarters.

Dr Konadu Apraku, 2008 campaign manager of Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo at a forum organized by the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy Alumni of the NPP in Kumasi, asked party supporters to elect what he called ‘a right leader’ to ensure victory in the 2016 elections.

This comment was not welcomed by members of the NPP as many saw it as a betrayal on the part of Dr Apraku who was also the former Minister of Trade in the erstwhile Kufuor administration.

Subsequently, he was summoned by the Party elders to answer questions bordering on his utterances.

However, speaking on Radio Gold, Bernard Mornah has questioned the logic behind the summons especially in our current democratic dispensation; where people can freely express their views.

“What is this invitation all about; you are inviting people to come to the party’s headquarters simply because they have aired their views…but such things should not be allowed in our body politics because it does not border on democracy. I hope the NPP will sit down and go back to their old days where varied opinions are listened to so that they are able to put themselves together; other than that I don’t think the NPP will be able to patch up for anything useful in our body politics,” he said.

He further described as unfortunate the assertion by the General Secretary of the NPP, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie popularly known as Sir John that Dr Apraku is making those comments because he wants favours from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

According to him, that is not the way a party’s general secretary should behave. He is of the view that, Sir John needs to stop the insults, find solutions to the internal wrangling and bring the party together.

“I listened to the General Secretary of the party and I was totally broken…he singles out Apraku and takes him to the cleaners; saying Apraku is dinning with the NDC …I don’t think that is the way our politics should go; that is unfortunate…as the general secretary you need to listen to all sorts of opinion and call a truce where it is supposed to be; bring all factions on board so that together you can find out what the problem is…” he advised.