The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has admonished supporters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to make integrity and truth the guiding principles in the conduct of party activities.
Asantehene’s call came after he had established the historical background of the formation of the National Liberation Party (NLP), from whose tradition and principles the NPP finds its roots.
According to him, the NLP, which later became the United Party and now the NPP was formed in the palace of the then Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I to fight for the right of cocoa farmers, against the unfair treatment by Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
In a speech that was broadcast live on NEAT 100.9, the Asantehene said the largest opposition party has its umbilical cord at the Manhyia Palace, which stands for truth; so therefore, the NPP must endeavor to be truthful at all times.
He was speaking through the Offinsohene, Nana Wiafe Akenten III.
He made this appeal after Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, flagbearer of the NPP in the just ended 2012 general elections, paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at Manhyia.
In a nine minute address, Nana Addo who just arrived in Ghana after a six month stay in the United Kingdom expressed gratitude to the occupant of the Golden Stool for the role of Ashanti in the formation of what has become the Danquah-Busia-Dombo Tradition.
However, the Asantehene’s counsel has ignited a debate as to the reasons for which he (Asantehene) would impress on a political party to be honest. It has lead to many asking if it is because of the claims, perceived to be propagated by elements within the NPP that, Otumfuo Osie Tutu was allegedly used as a conduit to bribe the Supreme Court Judges who presided over the landmark election petition trial.