'NPP delegates made wrong choice electing John Boadu as chairman' — Political Science lecturer

Political Science lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Dr Jonathan Asante Otchere, has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates’ decision to elect John Boadu as National Chairman, arguing that it contradicts their earlier decision to reject him for the position of General Secretary.

According to Dr Asante Otchere, the considerations that influenced delegates against Mr Boadu during the party’s previous national elections should have been reassessed before he was elected chairman.

Speaking on Citi FM, he said the chairmanship race was the most closely watched contest in the latest elections, particularly after polling suggested that Mr Boadu was ahead of his main contender, Boakye Agyarko.

“The most important portfolio that everyone was talking about was the Chairmanship, and the question that I asked the delegates before the election was based on the polling that had come out putting John Boadu ahead of Boakye Agyarko,” he said.

Dr Asante Otchere said he therefore questioned whether anything had changed since delegates previously voted against Mr Boadu when he contested for the General Secretary position four years ago.

“So the question I asked myself and the delegates is that those considerations that made you vote against John Boadu for the General Secretary four years ago, have those factors changed?” he said.

He argued that if the circumstances and considerations that informed the earlier rejection remained the same, there was little justification for delegates to reverse their position and elect Mr Boadu as National Chairman.

“Since those factors have not changed, for me, it was a wrong decision on the part of the delegates to elect John Boadu,” he said.