‘I Have Resigned From CPP For NPP’ – Freddie Blay

Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Freddie Blay says he no more considers himself a member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).

The former CPP MP for Ellembele told Citi FM he is amenable to joining the main opposition New Patriotic Party. He became First Deputy Speaker with the support and endorsement of the NPP Majority in Parliament during the Kufuor administration.

Mr. Blay, who owns the pro-NPP Daily Guide newspaper, disclosed his departure from the CPP to Citi Breakfast Show Host Moro Awudu on Thursday March 3. Mr. Freddie Blay is viewed within the CPP as a traitor, having gone to Parliament on the party’s ticket yet aligning himself to the NPP.

Prior to the 2008 general elections for instance, Mr. Freddie Blay was criticized by some CPP stalwarts for not campaigning for the CPP flagbearer Papa Kwesi Nduom but rather endorsed the NPP’s Presidential Candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Mr. Freddie Blay who was confident of retaining the Ellembele seat he won in 1996, especially because the NPP had again not fielded a candidate ostensibly to make it easy for him to sail through, lost to the NDC’s Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, now a Deputy Energy Minister.

Analysts had said Mr. Blay’s seeming betrayal of the CPP contributed to his loss because CPP members as well as NPP members who voted for him were fed up.

But Mr. Blay has refuted these suggestions, insisting that the election was rigged by the NDC in the constituency. He buttressed his claim with the fact that close to five thousand ballots which could have gone to him were declared spoilt and subsequently rejected.

Asked whether he would relish being the Speaker of Parliament in future, Mr. Blay said he would be glad to accept that opportunity when it comes his way.

“Thank God, those who say so I would be happy with them. It is only a bad soldier who doesn’t want to become a general in the army. I will definitely accept any position to serve my country if it is not in conflict with my own beliefs and convictions” he said.

Asked about his view on the challenges of the CPP, Mr. Blay retorted: “Even now I won’t consider myself as part of the CPP. My whole family has not been deeply rooted in the CPP. I and another brother have been involved with the CPP but we can change that. There are a number of parties to join but I wouldn’t mind joining the NPP. In fact, I am more inclined towards that” he admitted.