Afoko appeals suspension; says he wants to lead NPP by example

The suspended Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Paul Afoko has appealed his suspension despite insisting previously he is still the Chairman of the party.

According to Nana Yaw Osei, Spokesperson for Mr. Afoko, the beleaguered former chairman still respects the party’s constitution and has appealed to the party’s National Council to take a look at the constitutional breaches in his “so called suspension.”

“The fact that he has maintained that everything about his so-called suspension was unconstitutional does not mean he cannot go by the party’s constitution. Mr. Afoko wants to lead by example,” he stated.

The NPP National Executive Committee (NEC) voted unanimously on October 23, 2015 and endorsed a recommendation of the party's disciplinary committee, to suspend Mr Afoko for what many stalwarts of the party say was Mr Afoko’s party-ruining and divisive decisions.

Mr Afoko had failed to attend to invitations of the party’s Disciplinary Committee following the petitions filed against him by two elders of the party.

The 1st Vice-Chairman, Fredie Blay, was appointed as acting National Chairman from that day.

Alhaji Sulemana Yirimea and Alhaji Aminu petitioned the Disciplinary Committee on Afoko’s conduct.

Mr. Afoko’s and his lawyers faulted the decision as unlawful and threatened to head to court.

But some three individuals sent a case to the High Court to challenge NEC's decision.

They also wanted the party restrained from holding Mr. Blay as acting Chairman.

The NPP ignored the case and held a Steering Committee meeting at the party’s headquarters.

Mr. Afoko's suspension also led to one member of the party at Asawase being stabbed to death last Friday. Many members of the party had maintained that Mr. Afoko's interest was better served by using the internal structures of the party to address his concerns instead of mobilising people to demonstrate against the decision and sponsoring court actions.

Probably heeding the calls, the Sandema native filed an appeal against the decision.

Nana Yaw Osei told Joy News that Mr Afoko submitted a 14-page petition to the NPP’s National Council. He stated that it consists basically of the constitutional breaches in the lead up to Mr. Afoko’s suspension.

“Mr Afoko will look at the law and advise himself as to what to do either within or outside the party,” he stated.

The petition was received and filed by General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong.

The petition said the National Disciplinary Committee's receipt of the petition in writing from the two elders directly without giving the said petition first to the national Council was in violation of Articles 4(3) (d) and 4 (s) (a) of the NPP constitution.

The Spokesperson emphasized that the appeal is not about the claims which were leveled against him but on constitutional breaches.

He explained that two members of the Disciplinary Committee of the New Patriotic Party, Ama Busia, and Prof. Mike Ocquaye petitioned the Disciplinary Committee about Mr. Afoko and also sat in a meeting to decide on their fate.

“They couldn’t have sat on a matter they were petitioning, and these are constitutional breaches,” he asserted.

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