Former General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dan Kwaku Botwe says he believes the best pair for the NPP in the 2012 general elections is a North-South ticket.
According to him, a Southerner presidential candidate together with a Northerner running mate will be the best pair for the party to win the 2012 elections.
The Al-hajj newspaper Thursday said the former General Secretary of the NPP had vowed to resign from the party if a Southerner was chosen to partner its flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo for the race to the Castle.
The paper quoted “sources close to Dan Botwe indicate that he is threatening to resign and quit politics for good should Nana Addo carry through his intention of a south-south ticket,” claiming that Nana Akufo-Addo has ruled out his 2008 running mate, Mahamudu Bawumia as a partner for the 2012 elections.
Speaking on Asempa Fm’s Ekosii Sen on Thursday, Dan Botwe denied ever discussing the issue of selecting a running mate for Nana Addo for the 2012 elections. “Discussing the running mate issue will be the last thing I will ever discuss in the public.”
The Member of Parliament for Okere constituency in the Eastern Region noted that the party should rather decide who can best partner Nana Addo rather than mere speculations.
“I believe in the North-South ticket but have never ever been part of any discussion on this subject and will not resign if the majority view is different, no, not at all,” he asserted.
He said the running mate for the party is decided by the flagbearer in consultation with the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party so “we will all accept whoever is chosen.”
He said the party’s view will be respected because the interest of the party is always the most important. “I will be the last person to defy what the party decides. I have never gone out and will not discuss it anywhere until the party decides”.
He called for consensus building on the choice of a running mate for the party so that internal bickering will be avoided. “If it’s time for us to choose a running mate, it should be by consensus”.