Acting National Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, has said that some high political profiles who broke away from the Nkrumah’s party used the party as a springboard in politics.

According to her, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the party’s former flagbearer made a bad decision by breaking away from the party to form and stand on the ticket of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) in the 2012 general elections.

Speaking on Happy FM’s Epa Hoa Daben with Kwame Afrifa-Mensah she said, “Nduom made a bad decision for breaking away from the CPP. I like Nduom very much because of his love for the youth in the country by creating more jobs for them. Some of the high political figures who broke away from the party used the CPP as a springboard in politics”.

She, however, encouraged people especially the youth to join the party, and cleared the notion that the CPP is a party for old people. “Ghanaians thought we weren’t attractive to the youth because we didn’t send the youth to represent us in the media. But now we have young people speaking for us in the media and I encourage more youth to join”.

Nduom’s Political career

Dr. Nduom started his political journey in 1997 when he stood for elections at the Akotobinsin Electoral Area and won massively as an Assembly Member for the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Electoral Area.

In the December 2000 elections, he was again fielded as the candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) for KEEA Constituency but lost to Dr. Ato Ouarshie of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Recognizing his competence and the level of his uniqueness, Dr. Nduom was appointed by the then President, John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) as the Minister for Energy.

In 2004, Dr. Nduom again was fielded as the candidate of the CPP for KEEA constituency and won the seat for the party. At the time, he served as the chairman of the Organising Committee of the CPP. Early in President Kufuor’s second term of office, Dr. Nduom became the Minister for Public Sector Reform. He continued in this capacity till July 2007 when he resigned from the government to seek his party’s nomination to stand as the presidential candidate.

Even though the CPP ticket did not do well as expected, it was believed that Dr. Nduom contributed greatly to about one percent of votes the party obtained.

In 2012, he broke away from the CPP to form the PPP following disagreements with some members of the national executive on the direction of the party. After the PPP’s first national delegates conference, the party chose Dr. Nduom and declared him the PPP’s flag bearer for the 2012 general elections.

Although the party had less than a year to campaign for the elections, Dr. Nduom managed to place third among six other candidates including the current President, Mr. John Mahama of the NDC, and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is also vying for the same position on the ticket of NPP in this year’s election.