Calls by author and former presidential flag bearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party, Dr Kobina Arthur Kennedy on the newly elected leadership to cleanse the party Headquarters of elements associated with factions in the party seems to be paying off.
Information reaching The Al-Hajj indicate that the Afoko-led national executives presently on a retreat at Akosombo is considering carrying-out massive restructuring at the party’s Asylum Down headquarters.
Aside ongoing processes by the newly elected National Chairman to actualize his “New Plan for Power” vision, the new executives, as part of their planned restructuring to position the NPP as a credible opposition will see most of the operatives at the party headquarters and membership of the various specialized committees of the party replaced.
Among the casualties to be affected by the restructuring exercise, a source close to the newly elected national officers of the NPP revealed to The Al-Hajj are the Director of Communications, Perry Okudzeto; Director of International Affairs, Mr. Charles Owiredu and the Director of Elections, Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah.
Though the changes are yet to be made public, our sources were unable to say if these three officials are being dismissed or, they voluntary opted to step down as a result of their bias and hostile behavior towards Chairman Paul Afoko and newly elected General Secretary, Kwabena Adjei Agyepong ahead of the Tamale congress that elected them.
Aside the positions of Perry Okudzeto, Charles Owiredu and Martin Adjei Mensah Korsah, the NPP new national executives, per the party’s constitution are said to have also decided to reconstitute all committees of the party such as the disciplinary and vetting committees and other non-elective positions.
Appendages of some party kingpins, particularly those believed to be assigns of the party’s twice defeated presidential candidate, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have also been asked to find something to do as their continued hang-out at the party’s headquarters has become untenable.
It would be recall that in the run up to the NPP’s April 12, conference in Tamale that saw the massive endorsement of Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong for the positions of national Chairman and General Secretary respectively, some staffs at the NPP headquarter, overly obsessed with the privileged positions they occupied and never thought their godfathers could easily lose grip on the party, treated the two gentlemen with contempt and unimaginable scorn.
In one of such instances where Mr Afoko raised questions in the media about how he was not told the name of a supposed person who had petitioned the party’s vetting committee to block him from contesting, the party’s Director of Communications said the comments by Paul Afoko shortly after his vetting, were unacceptable and indiscreet.
“The issues that he has raised in the public domain about a prison sentence in Ghana were not the issues that were put to him at the vetting. The ranting in the media and the disclosing [of] confidential information at a vetting is against the rules. Let us all and let those, who seek to lead our party conduct themselves in a way that continues to breed that unity and cohesion in our party,” Perry Okudzeto stated.
It later turned out that the unknown person who petitioned the vetting committee for Paul Afoko’s disqualification works at Perry Okudzeto’s office as a result of which he had to apologize on behalf of that person after the petitioner had confessed that there was no merit in his petition.
On his part, Mr Adjei Mensah Korsah treated Paul Afoko with similar disdain when few days to the election he raised issues with portions of the party’s constitutions relating to who was eligible to vote at congress.
In hasty response to the then national chairman aspirant, the Director of Elections with over-bloated ego rudely described the concerns raised by Paul Afoko as inaccurate and untrue.
“I think some level of dishonesty must be put aside and if you make a position you are bold to stand by it,” Adjei Mensah Korsah noted