Confusion Rocks NPP, Over ‘One Man Show’

Kwabena Agyepong, NPP General Secretary
General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyepong, has stoked fire in the party by laying off some staff at its Asylum Down head office, and making fresh appointments without consulting other national officers as stipulated in the party's Constitution. This unilateral action was taken last Friday.

The 'one man show' action has angered other national officers who are calling for an emergency steering committee meeting to address the raging controversy in the party, principally instigated by Kwabena Agyepong.

Chief among the people asked to leave the national headquarters was the Acting Communications Director, Perry Curtis Okudzeto, who had virtually been made redundant since the new executives took over after the Tamale congress. Perry was asked to proceed on immediate leave.

Twelve other research officers were also affected by the action which has since generated controversy in the party, with people raising questions about the legitimacy of the General Secretary's action.

NPP Constitution
According to the NPP Constitution, 'The National Secretariat of the party shall consist of the General Secretary, the National Organiser, the Director of Finance, the Director of Communications, the Director of Campaign Strategy and such other personnel as the National Executive Committee may appoint.'

However, information gathered by DAILY GUIDE indicated that none of the new appointments was sanctioned by the National Executive Committee.

Mr. Agyepong is quoted as saying that he's running the party in a more professional way, but all his recent appointees are his campaign staff or coordinators—a move seen as dangerous to the overall interest of the NPP, as all the new Deputy Communications Directors but one is a communication specialist. This has subsequently made the appointments a 'job for the boys' affair.

New Appointments
In a statement which bore no date and issued under his hand on Friday, Mr. Agyepong appointed nine other persons as Deputy Communications Directors of the party.

They included Abudu Abdul Ganiyu and Ahmed Karim, northern sector; Nana Yaw Osei and Jennifer Amoako, middle belt; Michael Ampong, Western sector with Mike Oquaye, Kofi Boateng, Pius Hadzide and Seibik Bugri in-charge of the eastern sector.

Basis
The action, Kwabena Agyepong said, was 'in line with the re-organisation of the Communications Directorate of the Party', noting that 'further appointments and directives will be communicated in due course.'

In the case of Perry Okudzet, whose relieving letter dated August 13, 2014, was widely publicised on facebook, he was asked to proceed on annual vacation leave.

It was copied to the National Chairman, Paul Afoko, and acting Director of Finance and Administration, Edwin Tetteh—the man whose very appointment has been questioned by some leading members of the party since it did not go through National Executive Committee (NEC) for approval as required by the Constitution.

Mr. Tetteh was the campaign manager for Kwabena Agyepong when the latter was contesting for the General Secretary position.

Surprise
Perry Curtis Okudzeto
According to Perry who spoke to DAILY GUIDE, 'They said they want to professionalise the party so I have to go on leave, and I said okay.'

He was a bit surprised at the decision since according to him, 'The work I do is voluntary; it's not a paid work with a package, salary, pension and the rest of it that you have to go by corporate standards. A party is not run like MTN.'

Confusion
Moments after the decision was made public, most of the national executives who spoke on various radio networks across the country said they were not aware of any such decision, thereby raising issues of constitutionality.

This, they said, was because that decision does not lie in the bosom of any single individual.

Ideally, most of them indicated that any such decision or names should have been discussed by the Steering Committee which would then make recommendations to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for ratification.

They said none of these bodies had met for the last couple of weeks, let alone sit to approve any such decision, for which reason they could not come to terms with the issuance of the statement by the General Secretary.

The national officers are therefore calling for a Steering Committee meeting to straighten things.

Sources close to the party said after causing the mess, Kwabena is on his knees begging some of the officers to come to his defence—a request they had reportedly turned down.

 By Charles Takyi-Boadu