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01.09.2008 PPP

Nduom Exposed

By Daily Guide
Nduom Exposed
01.09.2008 LISTEN

WALLS, THEY say, have ears and DAILY GUIDE has picked up reliable information that the flag bearer of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom has proposed a partnership deal between his party and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2008 general elections.

The CPP flagbearer, in a confidential letter addressed to President John Agyekum Kufuor, as far back as June 24, 2007, had noted:

“WHAT I HOPE TO DO IS TO WORK IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NPP FOR 2008- BUT THE TERMS HAVE TO BE WORKED OUT FORMALLY THIS TIME BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES ON WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE ELECTIONS.

“What I am seriously working on is how to take control of the CPP. I am confident that I will succeed in getting my own people to take charge of the CPP at the next congress which will probably be in September or October this year”, Dr. Nduom stated.

The missile was dispatched when President Kufuor gave notice to Cabinet Ministers with presidential ambitions to resign their positions or focus on their jobs.

When Nduom's intention to resign was 'leaked' to the President he swiftly made a U-turn and wrote a double-tongued letter from France.

“Perhaps I must state here clearly that I HAVE NOT [sic] made up my mind to contest the 2008 elections at ANY LEVEL [sic].

I am not consumed by politics. I can get away from it all…I will decide what to do probably after the NPP Congress in December,” the CPP flagbearer elucidated.

Nduom, who has party hawks based at the headquarters, many of whom were trounced in their attempts to enter Parliament in 2004, fueling an internal confusion, confessed to President Kufuor that his party's credentials were weak.

“I am sorry that I cannot join the NPP,” he stated.

“Perhaps that would have made being in government easier. But try as I have, I simply cannot make the decision to switch parties.

It is not because of ideology. I am not a good party man,” he added.

The presidential hopeful who has equally let loose David Ampofo, 'a Rawlings man', to verbally assault anyone that catches his fancy in obscene manner, constantly whined to the President about how he was being maltreated and sabotaged by his colleague ministers and chief directors of the ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and how being in government had prevented him from making money.

“I have lost at least $11 million since I joined government in 2001,” he complained.

While claiming he just wanted to work for Ghana, the man who owns a chain of hotels and radio stations groaned, “I have lost my partnership with Deloitte.

They have forced me to sell my shares at a great loss. I have also closed down two of my companies.

My financial services companies get NO [sic] business from government sources.

I have to fend for myself and do things the proper way with the hope that in a few years I will make up some of the losses.

I just do not want to do any strange things in government to ruin my reputation,” he noted 'strangely'.

Meanwhile, the CPP flag bearer all through his campaign had strongly maintained that the December general elections would go into a run-off and that one of the two leading parties would then have to count on the support of another party.

Interestingly, Dr. Nduom has not publicly announced which party the CPP would support in the event of a run-off.

What he says is that the CPP would be one of the two leading parties during the run-off he is anticipating and that another party would at that point have to support him.

Nduom, in his letter, expressed his frustrations and alleged that the activities of the Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, had made it impossible for him (Nduom) to return to parliament and that he would take a decision on what to do with his political career after the NPP Congress in December.

“Since last year, I have been harassed by Nana Ato Arthur in my constituency (KEEA).

Despite the numerous complaints, everyone looks the other way. Sometimes, it is made an NPP-CPP matter. It is not. Ato Arthur has an unbridled ambition and does not care who and what he destroys.

My problem is not that he wants to contest the election to become MP. It is that we are both in the present government and the people do not understand the constant struggle going on.

“The choice of Mr. Asmah as DCE in KEEA has been a disaster for me, and I am sure, for the NPP as well in our area. We are not making much progress in my District. And that is a big source of frustration for me.

It is making nonsense out of my fighting to go to Parliament. I can assure you that whether I contest for the seat or not, Ato Arthur cannot win for the NPP in KEEA,” Nduom wrote to President Kufuor.

By Halifax Ansah-Addo

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