A statement made by Member of Parliament of Suame and Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu has created a plethora of reactions from several quarters within the New Patriotic Party over who to take over from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo into the 2024 elections.
In an interview on JoyNews about his party’s plans on a succeeding flagbearer, the leading NPP member suggested that the party consider persons from other tribes to give equal opportunities.
“Inwardly, I know also have the competence but is it wise for me now immediately after two Akans; Kufuor had been the president, Akufo-Addo follows from the Eastern Region and there is a third Akan to follow?
“Doing introspection, I think it may not hold well for a party that is accused by some as being overly Akanistic party. But not everybody agrees with me. And that is the beauty of democracy.”
But reacting to the development, Prof Gyampo intimated that it was wrong timing for NPP members and echelons to be engaged in such debates rather than focusing on “serious challenges with the first term of the Akufo Addo administration that led to the kind of results for the party in the 2020 elections.”
In a piece sighted by GhanaWeb, the Political Analyst asserted that it would be a cheap approach for the governing party to select a flagbearer only by ethnicity.
“The discussion on who must lead the party after the President, would, by all means, take place. But this is not the time. When we get there, it would be cheap for the discourse to be shaped brazenly by only by ethnicity. Whoever deserves to take over from the President must come from somewhere in Ghana. But the person must have the competence and pedigree to lead the party to victory. Where one comes from, cannot be used to replace one’s competence in a country that is fighting hard to extricate itself from the quagmires of poverty and underdevelopment,” part of his writeup read.
Below is Prof Gyampo’s full write up
1. It is a needless show of selfishness and a distraction for the discourse on who must replace President Akufo Addo, to be commenced, at a time when government hasn’t even been fully formed. Deputy Ministers haven’t been appointed. Boards and heads of other state institutions are yet to be appointed. MMDCEs haven’t been appointed.
2. There were serious challenges with the first term of the Akufo Addo administration that led to the kind of results for the party in the 2020 elections. These challenges have to be dealt with even as the President strives to leave a legacy. This is not the time to talk about who must replace or take over from him. He needs all to work with him to right the wrongs in his previous administration and to do something drastic that would make his party still attractive to the citizenry after eight years in power. It is in the interest of those seeking to take over from him, to ensure that he succeeds in his second term. For it is his success that would make things a bit easier for the NPP’s 2024.
3. The discussion on who must lead the party after the President, would, by all means, take place. But this is not the time. When we get there, it would be cheap for the discourse to be shaped brazenly by only by ethnicity. Whoever deserves to take over from the President must come from somewhere in Ghana. But the person must have the competence and pedigree to lead the party to victory. Where one comes from, cannot be used to replace one’s competence in a country that is fighting hard to extricate itself from the quagmires of poverty and underdevelopment.
4. As the NPP thinks about whoever would replace the President, they must be mindful of the fact that the NDC would strategically elect their most popular person, who has also produced an unprecedented election results in the history of Ghana’s Fourth Republic. They can choose to fight and divide their party and witness the telling impact on their electoral fortunes in the next election. They can also make the replacement of President Akufo Addo so seamless, and render the upcoming elections of 2024, a keen contest.
5. Any political party worth it salt, must ab initio, know who can lead it to victory and who can lead it to defeat. Once this is known, the “talkings” must commence immediately the time comes for the discourse on who must lead the party. It is also Democratic to identify and reach out timeously, to people whose candidature can generate schisms and hurt a party’s electoral fortunes, for the purposes of dialogue, (not force and intimidation) with a view to getting them to rather support a candidate who can, at the minimum, make an impending election keenly competitive.
6. Elders in the party must not take sides and desist from the politically “loose talks” that betray their partiality. They must watch whatever is going on and act swiftly when appropriate, in closing ranks. For if the NDC in 2020 wasn’t a walk-over, its potential in the next election is palpably indubitable.
Yaw Gyampo
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Political Analyst, Prof Ransford Gyampo