PPP not trustworthy for merger – PNC

The People's National Convention (PNC), has said it does not trust the Progressive People Party (PPP) enough to agree to a merger with it and other smaller parties.

The PPP on Monday, March 13, 2017 at a press conference, announced its readiness to merge with other smaller political parties to form an effective third political force in the country.

But according to the PNC, the PPP, which was founded by Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, does not believe in the Nkrumahist ideologies, and therefore cannot seek for a merger with parties founded on those ideologies.

The 2016 flagbearer for the PNC, Dr. Edward Mahama, told Citi News many perceived smaller political parties after every election sought mergers, but arrangements to actualize them fail. He however discounted the possibility of the PNC merging with the PPP based on the difference in their ideologies.

“Before the last election, we were in talks with the CPP. We were supposed to field one candidate and that didn’t hold so I will not put too much trust in what they are saying because I have seen it before several times; year after year. People are very dishonest about their intentions.”

“PPP said they are not Nkrumahists, we are Nkrumahists, so what kind of relationship do they want with us? It is true that he [Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom] is not an Nkrumahist, he left CPP, so if PPP wants unity, they should re-enter CPP, and PNC and CPP can have that relationship because we are both Nkrumahists,” he said.

He added that, “I don’t trust them [PPP] one bit. Why did he [Dr. Nduom] leave CPP in the first place and now he wants to unite with them. He should go back to CPP, then we will have Nkrumahist unity, or he should declare that he is an Nkrumahist, then we can have that relationship. We are Nkrumahist, whether we are losing elections or not, we are not running away from that label.”

Meanwhile, the Convention People's Party (CPP), has welcomed the proposal for a merger with the PPP.

The Communications Director of the party, Abdul Rauf Kadir, told Citi News the CPP was open to talks for a merger and welcomes the proposal.

 “The Convention People’s Party has always looked forward to the day where all the smaller parties, especially the Nkrumahist parties, come together to form a formidable political force in the country to rescue the mass of the people from the broken promises of the both the NDC and NPP.”

He added that, “We in the CPP, it is in our DNA that any move or discussion towards unity must be given the highest premium so we actually have an open door. Our We are very positive that this time around, even though Ghana is increasingly becoming a duo-politic political party system between the NDC and NPP, we believe that all the smaller political parties  that reason and think like the CPP will come together so that we can forge ahead together,” Abdul Rauf said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @jnyabor