Fairness of Nov 4 exercise will determine our unity ahead of election 2024 – Afriyie Akoto

A flagbearer aspirant for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto says the party will pay a high price if the November 4 delegates’ congress is engineered to favor one candidate.

This according to him is because trust and unity within the party will be broken.

Speaking to JoyNews, Dr. Afriyie Akoto said any fraction within the party will also affect its chance of breaking the 8 against the NDC.

“I am prepared to give the benefit of doubt and hope that everything will be alright because the implication of all this is the unity of the people.

“If we are not seen to be having a level playing field after 4^th November, it is going to be very difficult to unite the party against the NDC and for me that is my worry.

“Because if people feel that they have not been fairly treated, how do you expect them to cooperate with the party after the contest. So I think it is in the interest of the party to ensure that we have a level playing field,” he stressed.

On Saturday, November 4, over 200 thousand delegates are expected to decide who should lead the NPP in the 2024 election.

Currently, the aspirants  are four following the withdrawal of former Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen from the race.

The four include the Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, MP for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong, and former MP for Mampong, Francis Addai Nimoh.

Touching on the decision by a contender to break away from the party, Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the reasons given by Mr. Kyerematen for quitting the contest before coming out to say that he was no longer with the party, are founded.

“Of course, I don’t manage information the way he has done and I still believe that with a person like Mike Ocqyaye in charge, things can be corrected.

“But we have rules and regulations which say that if you are a party official you don’t define or come out to say that you are supporting this person or that person but look at what is happening.

“The whole government, the whole parliament, the whole party, most of the party managers and so on have come out openly to say that they support one person and it goes against the rules.

“So there is something wrong with the party.”

He also expressed his displeasure with the disciplinary committee for the delay in making public the findings of their investigations into abuses reported after the super delegates’ congress.

“Up to today, there is absolutely no report from the Ghana Police Service to show that violence which is a crime, occurred.

“This incident came public, throughout the media and the whole country, there was the brutalization of this agent in North East. The disciplinary committee came that they were doing something about it and as we speak nothing has come out of that,” he said.

However, the chairman of the election committee of the NPP, Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye says the findings of the committee’s work had been submitted to the General Secretary of the party.

“That is something that has compelled us to be more stringent in our processes. Nevertheless, this is a matter that has been formally reported.

“We invited the persons allegedly involved. We had meetings with them. We had a report on our findings handed over to the General Secretary.

“At the moment we are not concentrating on disciplinary action because we have left it to the appropriate authority and that is the party’s disciplinary committee, we are interested in the lessons.”

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