Former President Kufuor can help solve challenges in NPP

February 03, 2010
Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, a Founding Member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called on former President John Agyekum Kufuor, to intervene and help solve the party's current challenges.

"I appeal to former President Kufuor to be the neutral figure that the party so badly needs to heal the wounds of the past," he said.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, former Ghana's Ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, was addressing a press conference in Accra on Wednesday to express his sentiments on the current internal differences in NPP.

"As a founding member of this party, I refuse to keep quiet when I know that these developments are gradually but critically destroying the fabric of our great party", he said.

He said the pillars laid down by selfless leaders of the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition should be built upon by successive generations but not to be destroyed.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe noted that the early leaders with enviable leadership qualities provided strong and firm structures for the party to thrive from one generation to the other.

"The founding fathers of our tradition always looked at the larger interest of the party. They forgave, forgot and never persuaded their personal agenda," he said.

On the leadership struggle, he said, in 1960 there was a leadership struggle between Professor K.A. Busia and Mr. Joe Appiah that was solved even though Mr. Appiah left to form his own party.

Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe said, the party also faced a leadership struggle in 1979 that led to the party's failure in the elections but the leadership united later.

According to Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe, the NPP had a tradition of selecting a flag bearer, which had been tested throughout these years and had greatly helped the party in numerous ways.

He said the party could only win Election 2012 when they followed the laid down traditions and the recent constitutional amendments to allow only five aspirants to contest for the position of a flag bearer.

"Our party lost Election 2008 because the 17 aspirants were too many, this brought divisions in the party," he said.

GNA