A group photograph of DFP members including some of the chairpersons after the news conference
A group of people claiming to be chairmen and leading members of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) have pledged their unflinching support for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure victory for the party in the 2012 general elections.
According to them, although their founder and leader, Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah and some DFP officers had decided to re-join the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), they would not follow them but would rather help the NPP to unseat their former party in 2012.
At a news conference organized by the group in Accra yesterday, Bernard Anvuur-Billy, who was the DFP’s 2008 Parliamentary Candidate for Ayawaso East in the Greater Accra Region and a spokesperson for the group, said, “We are working with the NPP in opposition so that together we can work hard to come back to power in 2012.”
According to them, Dr. Obed Asamoah made them support Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the 2008 general elections run-off. They therefore wondered why their founder would turn around to offer support to a party that hounded them out of their fold.
“We want to add our voices and also maintain the promise our founder Dr. Obed Asamoah made for us to support the NPP presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo in 2008. We are still going by that call and there is no turning back for us.”
Mr. Anvuur-Billy said, “For us, the NPP is a political force of our choice since our research shows that it is the only political party that can articulate, pursue and implement a political philosophy or agenda that will result in the consistent improvement in the lives of the masses of our people throughout the country.”
Bernard Anvuur-Billy, spokesperson of the group explaining issues at the news conference. With him are Noel Jean Kwasi Brahini (right)
He said in arriving at the decision to partner the NPP, they took into consideration “the general poverty growth rate of our people”, adding, “We think it is only the NPP, under the able leadership of Nana Akufo-Addo, which can bring Ghana out of the present economic mess.”
“We vehemently assure the NPP that despite our poor showing during the 2008 elections, which was due to the inability of the DFP to raise funds in time and coupled with other organizational problems, we are now anxiously and zealously hungry for success and are ever prepared to do anything possible within the constitution to help the NPP to come back to power in 2012.”
He said the 10 regional chairpersons met in 2009 to take stock and decided that the party needed re-invigoration, adding that they had since been pursuing the agenda of re-building the party.
They said they were grateful to Dr. Obed Asamoah for “providing some of us the needed political platform”, which they said “would help us jump to political prominence in the near future”, adding, “We wish him the best and pray that the NDC takes good care of him.”
Noel Jean Kwasi Brahimi, DFP’s 2008 Parliamentary Candidate for Okaikoi North, said Dr. Obed Asamoah and his group should never think that every DFP member would follow them to the NDC because majority of the membership had decided not to go with the founder.
“Dr. Obed Asamoah and others are not in touch with the DFP grassroots. We have stayed with them all these years and we know that they with us, rather than being with the top executives.”
Some of the members who were present at the news conference were Halida Sichunu, Upper West Regional Chairman; Michael Amoah, Volta Regional Chairman; Daniel Kwarteng, Ashanti Regional Chairman and David Abusa, Upper East Regional Chairman.
The rest were Noel Jean Kwasi Brahimi, 2008 Parliamentary candidate for Okaikoi North; Abass Yakubu, Northern Regional Chairman, Accra, who was represented by Samuel Kwofie and Francis Osei.
By William Yaw Owusu