Paul Afoko Must Confirm Perry Okudzeto As Communications Director

The New Patriotic Party has come a long way since its inception in 1992 and has achieved a lot for itself as a political organization and for the collective democracy of Ghana. One recent achievement worthy of mention and acknowledgement is the successful National Delegates Conference it recently held at Tamale.

The positive outcome of the Conference sent shivers down the spine of the ruling National Democratic Congress and a strong message to Ghanaians that the Party was ready to work together to return to power. Indeed, the diversity of the newly elected National Executives reiterates the Party's commitment to diversity and competence.

A couple of days ago, the Chairman, Mr. Paul Afoko, together with the support of the other newly elected executives, held a press conference in Accra to address a few matters. Particularly, the Mr. Afoko called on members to work towards unity of the Party because only in unity, can the Party win the 2016 general elections. He went a further step and demonstrated leadership when he stated clearly that he was not interested in supporting any aspiring presidential candidate. A steering committee meeting was held subsequent to the press conference where the old executives handed over to the new executives, and also allayed any fears of bias towards presidential hopefuls.

However, after this magnanimous show of leadership from the new Chairman, a newspaper, Ghanaian Palaver, reported that Mr. Afoko has begun a house cleaning exercise at the NPP Headquarters. Typical of the Ghanaian Palaver, they refused to name their source. I do not think Mr. Afoko will embark on such an exercise given his outspoken commitment to work with all sides of the Party to bring everyone on board for the Party's victory in 2016. I also do not believe that the Ghanaian Palaver can be quoted as a credible source of leaks for the Party or for anything at all.

That said I hold the view that Mr. Perry Okudzeto should be maintained, and in fact confirmed as the substantive Director of Communications for the Party. He is an experienced communicator, with tremendous oversight responsibility over the Party's communication machinery. His rapport with the media is beneficial to the NPP. He is competent, hard working, and has served the Party selflessly in its Communications Directorate. In fact, it was through his painstaking efforts that a Communications Directorate was even set up at the Party Headquarters for the first time.

Perry's ethnicity also plays a critical role in shaping the image of the Party in the minds of Ghana. He is currently the only high ranking Ewe person at the Party Headquarters. Removing such a strategic player in the Party Headquarters will be a major setback in the Party's quest to be an all inclusive and diverse political party. Although, the named replacement, Andrew Awuni, may do a good job, I believe at this point in time, Perry Okudzeto is the best person of the job.

I will therefore urge Mr. Afoko to confirm Perry Okudzeto as the substantive Director of Communications for the Party.

Naa Adorkor Tetteh--'Business Is A State Of Mind. Once Your Acquire That State Of Mind, You'll Make Money Easily'