A member of the National Council of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Kwame Amoako-Tuffuor, has challenged the authority of his party’s National Chairman, Mr. Paul Afoko, saying he (Afoko) has no right to sack any party activist at the Headquarters appointed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) or cancel National Council (NC) scheduled meetings.
He argues that it takes a collective effort on the part of a group to postpone such meetings.
Dr Amoako-Tuffuor was particularly unhappy with the attempt to relive the party’s Director of Finance and Administration, Hon. Opare Hammond, off his post by the new National Executives and also the recent out of the blue postponement of the NC meeting at the blind side of most of the members.
Reacting to the internal bickering in the NPP on Okay Fm’s “Adeakye Abia” Morning Show, the former boss of School Feeding Program under erstwhile Kufuor administration said the party’s constitution does not give power to individuals but to a group of people to operate, thus it was wrong on the part of the National Chairman to solely effect changes in appointments made by the NEC.
“What someone wants in the party should not make any difference…..if my appointment as a National Council member was made by the previous chairman, then the new chairman can dismiss me and bring in another person. But regarding our role, the party’s NEC appointed us……it is this group which has the power of the constitution to appoint including Hon. Opare Hammond. Afoko should have modestly sent a proposal to the NEC for new appointment to be made at the party’s Headquarters. The National Executives don’t have the right to sack anybody at the Headquarters if you look at the constitution…..whether they like Nana Addo or not is immaterial but the positions were approved by the NEC; they have the authority to effect changes regarding appointments. We should understand that the National Chairman is an individual who is an executer of programs and activities on behalf of the party….he (Afoko) is not the last man standing in the party’s authority to sack people appointed by NEC; the National Chairman is submissive to NEC and he may sit to chair a meeting but the authority is in the collective duty of the group as the constitution says…..,” he pontificated.