"I speak to Akufo-Addo, but I'm closer to President Kufuor". These were the words of Paul Afoko in an interview with Kwesi Pratt on Hot Issues last Saturday.
There is one problem the New Patriotic Party does not want to have nipped in the bud. Anytime someone brings up the issue, it is rubbished or the person who dares to bring it out is chastised.
It is a well-known fact, that there are certain persons in the NPP do not want to see an Akufo-Addo Presidency. It is simply not an option for them and will do anything for possible for Nana Akufo-Addo to become President.
Unfortunately, these anti-Akufo-Addo persons are all lodged in the camp of President Kufuor. President Kufuor is well aware of these allegations, but has so far failed to distance himself from these allegations.
The above quotation from Paul Afoko, an aspirant for the National Chairmanship slot of the NPP epitomises the mechanism that has been put in place by the Kufuor camp, to ensure that Nana AKufo-Addo does not become President of the country, ever.
One would ask, why did Lord Commey slap Paul Afoko on the congress grounds of the 2007 NPP presidential primaries? The answer is clear: Paul Afoko was busily sharing money to ensure that his preferred candidate Alan Kyerematen becomes the Presidential Candidate of the NPP for the 2008 elections.
When that did not materialise, the Kufuor camp, with Paul Afoko in the thick of events have tried, times without number, to ensure that no one aside their candidate, Alan Kyerematen, becomes President of the Republic.
What would make anyone believe, therefore, that Paul Afoko, the man who dislikes Nana Addo so much would want to work to ensure that he becomes President? Paul Afoko and the Kufuor cabal, made up of Kwabena Agyapong and Kwadwo Mpiani, do want to see an Akufo-Addo Presidency and would do anything to make sure that Nana Addo never wins.
Barely a month ago, President Kufuor was livid about the fact that the Ashanti Regional Chairman, Chairman Wontumi, had literally turned his back on his fathers and was now supporting Nana Addo for 2016. Again, President Kufuor told his symapthisers that Stephen Ntim, a man he backed in the 2010 NPP national delegates' conference, "had now aligned himself to the Akyems."
Are these people, who have the well-being of the NPP at heart? Certainly not!! Delegates of the NPP in the upcoming National Delegates' Conference cannot make the mistake of electing these pro-Kufuor personalities.
Grassroot NPP supporters have made it clear that they don't want anybody but Akufo-Addo to lead the NPP in the 2016 elections. Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong, aspirants for the National Chairman and general Secretary Positions respectively, will not work for Akufo-Addo to become President.
Kwadwo Mpiani summed up these machinations against Akufo-Addo when he stated that declaring his preferences for some candidates ahead of the Tamale conference would mean Nana Akufo-Addo was not ready for power. What is Kwadwo Mpiani afraid off? Is he scared that his candidates (Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong) are losing and cannot therefore ensure that Agenda 2020 becomes a reality?
Victory in 2016 is in our hands. The NPP would make a giant step towards the Jubilee House and restoring hope for Ghanaians by not electing Kwabena Agyepong and Paul Afoko.
*Mohammed Alhassan*
*Builsa South Constituency*