I Am Toughened For Chairmanship – Paul Afoko

Mr Paul Afoko, an aspirant to the national chairmanship position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said though he feels unfairly treated by the petitioner’s action, the experience gained has toughened him for the chairmanship position of the party.

He said he was prepared for the arduous task of becoming the national chairman of the NPP and pledged to work extra hard within the one month of campaign to win the race.

Let go of the past

The leading NPP member called on the rank and file of the party to let go of the past and join hands with him to work for the NPP to ensure victory in the 2016 elections.

At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Afoko stated that “I feel extremely privileged to have been the only candidate who actually went under the scrutiny of the dreaded Interpol and came out clean”, he said.

He was speaking a day after he had been cleared by the National Vetting Committee of the NPP at the party’s headquarters in Accra.

“I am now in a better position to embark on a vigorous campaign for the chairmanship race,” he declared.

According to Mr Afoko, the committee told him during his meeting with them yesterday that they had received a comprehensive report from the Interpol division of the Police Department of England that showed that “Paul Afoko is not known to them”.

“I have never been arrested or convicted for any crime throughout my over 30 years stay in England. Indeed, not even for a motor traffic offence”, he quoted the committee as telling him.

Building bridges

Mr Afoko stated that now that it was all over, the rank and file of the party must unite for the common purpose of winning the 2016 elections.

“I am committed to building bridges and want to make it clear that my primary objective for joining the race is to help unite the NPP and lead the NPP return to political power.

I am grateful to all

He expressed appreciation to all those party members who stood by him throughout the “period of great suspense”, saying that “I will never disappoint them”.

“I thank the National Council of the NPP, the elders of the party, the members of the vetting committee and particularly the constituency and regional executives who stood by me”, the aspirant said.

“I thank the committee because at the end of the day, the petition, purportedly written by one David Gyasi, served a good purpose.

NPP needs visionary leaders

Mr Afoko said what the NPP needed today was a disciplined and professional management that was strategic in its thinking to enable the party to win the 2016 polls.

“We need a management that has winning political power as its focus and nothing else and one that understands the dynamics of our national politics and is prepared to bite the bullet to make things happen.

“Our party also needs a management that is accountable and transparent and I am prepared to provide all these when given the chance”, Mr Afoko promised.

Support for any flag bearer

He also pledged his commitment to support whoever would be elected as the flag bearer of the party to win the presidency during the 2016 general election.

“I will not promise heaven but I can promise that whoever the party elects as its presidential candidate, I will make sure that he or she goes to the Jubilee House as the next President of Ghana”.

“My greatest desire is to see the NPP together as one, strong and vibrant to do battle in the next polls”, he said.