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NPP is comfortable in opposition - Pratt

By MyJoyOnline
NPP NPP is comfortable in opposition - Pratt
MAY 16, 2015 LISTEN

Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper Kwesi Pratt says the attitude being displayed by members and leadership of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) indicates that they are not ready to win power in 2016.

According to him, if the NPP was ready for power it will not be up in arms against its own people.

His comments are in relation to the current NPP's internal wrangling which was sparked by a Steering Council meeting organised without the presence of the Chairman Paul Afoko and the General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong.

Just this week, some youth of the party in the Upper East regional capital Bolgatanga were alleged to have assaulted the Chairman and the General Secretary accusing them of breaking the party's front.

Mr Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong had to seek refuge at a police station in the region.

The police had to resort to tear gas to disperse the violent crowd who besieged the police station.

Speaking on Radio Gold’s news analysis programme ‘Alhaji and Alhaji’ Saturday, Mr Pratt said these occurrences do not portray a party that is ready to wrest power form the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2016 elections.

Through a careful scrutiny of the party, the veteran journalist said “over the last couple of weeks I have been watching the NPP carefully and I am fully convinced that there are elements in that party that are satisfied with being in opposition.

“There are elements in that party that don’t want to get anywhere near government, because their conduct and utterances are such as to indicate to the people of Ghana that they should not be voting for that party,” he added.

He ciritsised former flagbearer aspirant of the party Dr Arthur Kennedy for asserting that the flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo was bent on removing the elected Chairman and General Secretary at all cost and blamed him for the confusion and mayhem the party is plagued with.

He said Dr Kennedy’s allegation that the flagbearer was intolerant and should be held responsible for the current mishaps was inappropriate.

“The question is will the people of Ghana be voting for any political party whose flagbearer has been described by his own party leaders as intolerant? he quizzed.

For the leadership of the NPP to be making this claim publicly, in his view, means that “we should not be voting for the NPP in 2016.”

He questioned why the NPP will want the voters to vote for them if “they are not prepared to realise their main purpose”.

For a party who went to an early poll to select a flagbearer due to what is says was limited time, Mr Pratt believes that the party is not ready to win power if it is fighting amongst each other.

He said the developments in the party are worrying and have “touched the very core of national security and safety."

“If this is how our politics is going then we should be deeply worried. I am more than convinced that there are so many people in the NPP who are comfortable in opposition and do not want to leave.”

He advised that the party leadership takes stringent measures to ensure that the appropriate measures are put in place to prevent a possible escalation of situation.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected]

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