Tribalism will kill NPP - Minority Leader cautions

Kumasi — The Minority Leader in Parliament and MP for Suame Constituency, Hon. Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu has cautioned against any form of tribalism within the New Patriotic Party, warning that it could have devastating consequences on the electoral fortunes of the party.

The Minority Leader stated that tribalism and ethnicity in any form must not be encouraged in the party and should be totally eliminated, if the party seeks to build a formidable and united front towards the next general elections.

He noted that the NPP is not a party for Ashantis or Akyems alone, and so it would be wrong on the part of any member to divide the party along those tribal lines.

"Do you think that Ashanti and Akyem people alone can win the elections for NPP? We need the support of every single Ghanaian, irrespective of one's tribal or ethnic affiliations," he stressed.

Sharing his thoughts on recent happenings in the largest opposition party on Angel FM in Kumasi recently, Hon. Mensah Bonsu said it was very disheartening to note that the NPP, which ought to position itself to Ghanaians as the viable alternative to the defective NDC government, is rather spending time fighting among themselves.

He said NPP members in parliament were very much concerned about the growing indiscipline and internal strife within the party, and appealed to all members to bury their differences in the supreme interest of the party.

According to him, it would not be in the interest of any member of the party, be it from Nana Akuffo Addo or Alan Kyerematen camp to see the disintegration and downfall of the party, stressing that the common opponent of the NPP is not within NPP, but those who will eventually compete against the party during the 2012 elections.

The Minority Leader, therefore, unequivocally condemned the recent accusations of the former flag bearer of the party by the Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer, Kennedy Kankam and other members of the party, whose actions and comments seek to divide the party, instead of uniting it.

Hon. Mensah Bonsu was of the opinion that it would be mind-boggling for anyone to think that an NPP member would deliberately engineer the prosecution of its members.

He therefore described those allegations as unfounded, adding that it must be treated with all the contempt it deserves.

Hon. Mensah Bonsu said it would be wrong for anyone to hide behind the so-called factionalism within the party to mudsling and denigrate certain individuals in the party.

He said the party's political opponents, especially the NDC, had deliberately set up a scheme to disintegrate and sow seeds of discord within the party, and that certain members were falling prey to the evil machination of the NDC.

"NDC set a trap and it appears some members of our party have been trapped; I can tell you that this is a machination of the ruling party to divide and bring confusion into the hierarchy of the NPP and we must not allow that," he charged.

The Minority Leader has, therefore, charged supporters of the party to be wary of their utterances in order not to expose the party to its political enemies.