'I'm shocked NPP elected an ex-convict as 1st Vice Chairman' – Akwatia MP on Kojo Bamba 

The Member of Parliament for Akwatia, Bernard Bediako Baidoo, has questioned the eligibility of Kojo Fosu Boadu, popularly known as Kojo Bamba, to serve as the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) First National Vice Chairman.

According to him, the NPP's constitution contains provisions on the eligibility of members to contest and hold positions within the party, which he believes should have been considered before Mr Bamba was cleared to contest.

Mr Bamba emerged as the First National Vice Chairman at the NPP's National Delegates Conference in Kumasi on Saturday, October 3, polling 3,116 votes to beat 12 other contenders.

"I'm so shocked how NPP got it wrong, because if you read Article Three of the Constitution, it talks about eligibility to hold an office within the party, and it escaped the NPP that this is a convict," he said.

Kojo Bamba's election has revived attention on his involvement with the Delta Force, a pro-NPP vigilante group that gained notoriety in the Ashanti Region after the party's 2016 election victory.

The Akwatia MP recalled that in April 2017, Kojo Bamba and 12 other members of the group pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody after they were freed from a Kumasi Circuit Court by supporters of the group.

They were each fined GH¢2,400, equivalent to 200 penalty units, and ordered to sign a six-month bond of good behaviour.

The Akwatia MP, citing that conviction, argued that the NPP should have examined the party's constitutional provisions more closely before allowing Kojo Bamba to contest.

The NPP constitution available publicly provides that a member may be disqualified from holding office or contesting a party election if convicted or sentenced for certain offences, including offences involving dishonesty, fraud or moral turpitude, as well as offences punishable by death or a sentence of at least 10 years, subject to stated exceptions.

However, the discussion on Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana became contentious when the issue of whether Kojo Bamba's conviction constituted a disqualification was raised.

2024 NPP partliametary candidate for Dome Kwabenya, Mike Ocquaye Jr, who was also on the show, argued that the offence for which Mr Bamba was convicted was a misdemeanor and did not fall within the categories of offences that automatically bar a person from contesting a party position.