The bane of the New Patriotic Party is the inability to flush out the mole in its midst and the over-reliance on some few members of the Council of Elders. Mr. B. J. da Rocha has played a very significant role towards the formation of the New Patriotic Party. The party appreciated his role and rewarded him with the chairmanship. As its first chairman, he made everybody aware that he was the person in charge. Then, he lost prominence and was heard of no more.

But of late, he is trying to regain some sort of control of the Party apparatus. And he is doing so in series of memos and letters which he addresses to top members of the party. But what beats my understanding is the way such supposedly secret memos are leaked to the press. Is there or are there moles at the party headquarters?.

The first in the series of such leakages occurred during the Alan Kyeramanten's resignation saga. The letter which was addressed to the party's Chairman who was then at the verge of traveling outside Ghana was leaked to the press. How did it happen?

MISTAKE NUMBER ONE

Then, at the time we were all praying for a peaceful resolution of conflict, Mr. B. J. da-Rocha unleashed the famous bombshell - Alan could go if he wanted. Such an utterance was not expected from an elder of a party. That was mistake number one.

MISTAKE NUMBER TWO

Mistake number two was followed the earlier one in close succession. This was the genesis of the whole problem. As true members of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition, and to give respect and honour to whom it was due, Hajia Alima Mahama accompanied by her son had paid our revered party elder a visit to solicit his support for her bid as running mate to the NPP flag-bearer.

He told them bluntly that he would not endorse the ticket. That should have ended the matter, but no, it wasn't. Our Elder statesman felt he had to put his “no” on paper and send it to flag-bearer. That was okay, but what was the point in telling the flag-bearer that if he picked Hajia Alima Mahama he would lose the election. That was a veiled attempt at tying the hands of the flag-bearer.

BLACKMAIL

It was also an attempt to blackmail the flag-bearer into doing away with the candidate he had wanted to join him on the ticket. What if the flag-bearer felt comfortable with his choice and had gone ahead to nominate her. An irreparable harm would have been done to the ticket.

It was like releasing ammunition for one's enemies to fly the kite. That went a long way to inflame passions. By the way, how did the letter get leaked to the press?

What is the party doing about such leakages? Does it mean we have a mole at the secretariat or headquarters? The earlier we did something about such leakages, the better it would before the party.

My next question is how long are some party elders going to hold the flag-bearer hostage about the choices he makes? Was Kufuor subjected to such checks when he wanted to pick his running mate? Consultations are good, but we should realize that the buck would stop at t the table of the flag-bearer.

THE NDC'S SCENARIO

Let us use the case of the NDC as an example. Rawlings, his wife and some top members of the NDC had wanted Betty Mould as Running Mate to Atta mills. But Mills wanted John Mahama. We are all aware of the drama that ensued which finally culminated into selecting John Mahama as the running mate. And today the chemistry between the two is working, thanks to the flag-bearer having his way.

Has somebody ever heard of a player from Asante Kotoko being made captain of Accra Hearts of Oak after a few years sojourn at the camp of the oak tree? In the olden days, such a thing was likely, but in the light of the animosity that exists between these two glamorous clubs, such an event is not likely to happen even if the player remains in the camp of the opposing team for donkey of years.

Asiedu Nketia and top members of the NDC were all over the place saying to all who cared to listen that Saddique Boniface, Ibn Chambas, Rashid Bawa and Alhaji Jawula were all card bearing members of the NDC. I shudder to think what noise the NDC would have made if any of the four had got the nod as running mate to Nana Akufo Addo. I am glad that sanity prevailed and none of the four was selected.

Now that the battle has been fought and won, I am appealing to all true and genuine party men and women to forget the acrimony that ensued before and after the running mate had been selected. We all belong to the same elephant fraternity.

THE GOOD NEWS

We should therefore do our best to market the ticket. Fortunately, unlike our colleagues in the NDC, our commodity made up of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Dr Mohamudu Bawumia is marketable for the ticket is being sought after in every nook and cranny of the country.  Continued    Source: na - Ghana Music