A leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party has traced the root cause of the party’s problems and the deep-seated factionalism threatening the survival of the biggest opposition party to former president John Agyekum Kufuor, saying “Kufuor is cause of NPP’s woes.”
According to the NPP stalwart, former president Kufuor’s endorsement and subtle campaign for Alan Kyeremanten as his successor against 16 other party kingpins ahead of its 2007 congress at Legon, engendered the problems that have dogged the party.
Speaking to The Al-Hajj in an exclusive interview on strict condition of anonymity, the NPP guru stated that if the former president had played the fatherly-figure in 2007 by remaining neutral and allowing his ‘children’ to battle for the most coveted position in the party; it would have remained “united even today.”
“If you’re a father and your children are contesting for a position, you don’t show love and support for one against the others. What you do is; you sit back and remain neutral and allow them to fight for the position…when one of them emerged victorious you call the losers and encourage them to support the victor,” the NPP kingpin averred.
He noted that the former president did not just support his Trade, Industry and PSI minister against other candidates, who were either ministers or appointees of his government, he booted out Ministers and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives perceive to be against Alan Kyeremanten after he had lost to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
This, the linchpin revealed gave birth to the factionalism in NPP, which he said has given rise to the wanton challenges the party has been battling with since former president Kufuor exited the highest office of the land in 2008, which saw power change hands from the then ruling party to the National Democratic Congress.
Obviously dissatisfy with Nana Akufo-Addo’s announced third time comeback, the NPP guru stated “I don’t support Nana Addo…I have my own candidate that I prefer, but what I want is justice and fairness”
He said media reports about ongoing meetings by some leading members of the NPP to strategize on how to get Nana Akufo-Addo out of the race is true, further alleging that “Kufuor is in support of those meetings and it is being attended by only Ashantis in our party…, Kufuor blessed that meeting and their aim is to make sure Nana Addo doesn’t contest the election. If Kufuor is a true Catholic and Christian as we are told he is; he should come out and deny what I am saying.”
According to the NPP kingpin, if there would be unity and cohesion in the NPP that will ensure electoral victory in 2016, then ex-president Kufuor must show the way and “demonstrate his neutrality…he must begin to right his wrongs in past to ensure we have a united party”
He cautioned the newly elected executives to be neutral because “we are monitoring and observing every step they take. They promised to bring us back to power and we will support them to do that, but what I am saying is that they must remain neutral…they are under surveillance and we are observing them.”
Commenting on ex-president John Kufuor’s presence at the rebranding ceremony of Merchant Bank now Universal Merchant Bank when the party had kicked against the sale of the bank, the NPP guru stated “it was hypocritical and disgraceful for him to have attended that ceremony”
“The entire party was against the sale of the bank to the extent that some members even went to court to challenge the deal, so why should former president Kufuor attend the rebranding of the same bank to rationalize the sale. His conduct was an embarrassment to the NPP, its supporters, MPs and all Ghanaians who kicked against the sale,” he stated.