Kwabena Agyepong Out Of Coverage Area

The storm is gathering as the self-inflicted crisis in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) deepens with possibly dire consequences. General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyepong, who instigated the crisis, is under heavy bombardment for plunging the party into the unwarranted situation, after which he has gone underground, switching off his phones. He has come under attacks from leading members of the party, including his fellow national executives, over some of his decisions. His unilateral decision to remove Acting Communications Director, Perry Curtis Okudzeto, from his position and the subsequent appointment of nine of his (Agyepong�s) favourite lieutenants as Deputy Communications Directors sometime last week, is the bottom-line of the confusion. It is believed that Mr. Agyepong caused one of his several aides or assistants to write the letter relieving Perry from his post, considering the fact that it was laden with spelling mistakes and lacked official touch as well as a questionable signature. It is also believed that he had taken that decision with the National Chairman of the NPP, Paul Afoko. Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE has gathered that Mr. Agyepong will be holding a media briefing today to bear his chest out. Protest Key and influential members of the NPP have descended on him for his unilateral handling of party affairs without reference to them or recourse to laid-down procedures, as though a modern-day dictator. Third National Vice Chairman, Frederick Fredua Anto; Northern Regional Chairman, Daniel Bugri Naabu; Upper East Regional Chairman, Adams Mahama and Dr. Kwame Amoako Tuffuor, a member of the National Council, representing the Ashanti Region, are among the few national officers of the party who are livid with Kwabena Agyepong�s arrogance and showmanship. �We are not going to allow Kwabena Agyepong to destroy our party. He knows what he is doing; he is trying to create confusion in the party and we will not sit down and allow the party to collapse at this time of the day,� Bugri Naabu told journalists in Tamale yesterday. They all stressed the need for Mr. Agyepong to reverse the decision in order not to deepen the existing cracks in the party. Bugri Naabu said the actions of Mr. Agyepong had created disunity and confusion and this would affect the impending special congress of the party, adding that building the structures of the party at all levels should be the paramount priority of the newly elected executives. Mr. Naabu stressed the need for the appointment of deputy national executives to complement the work of the party, instead of being vindictive. He said the NPP originated from the northern parts of Ghana and therefore regional executives from those areas would not allow the party to be disintegrated through the actions of the General Secretary and appealed for calm within the NPP. Mr. Mahama also described the actions of Mr. Agyepong as very disappointing since it was done without collective consultation. The General Secretary however, declined to speak to the issue when reached by various media networks, including DAILY GUIDE, for comment. Attempts to reach the National Chairman, who has also been cited in the latest confusion in the party, also refused to pick calls on his mobile lines. Impeachment FF Antoh warned Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyepong to tread cautiously before they hit the wall. He accused them of taking unilateral decisions contrary to the party�s Constitution. Mr. Antoh, Second Vice Chairman of the party, is also incensed by the decision. He told Joy Fm that the decision was in clear violation of the party�s laws. �What was done was ultra vires,� he pointed out �and must be withdrawn,� he charged. He said the two have no mandate to take a decision like that without consulting the Steering Committee of the party. Emergency Meeting Meanwhile, other members of the national executives who constitute the Steering Committee of the National Executive Committee (NEC) have started pushing for an emergency meeting by Wednesday to resolve the crisis in the party after several initial attempts had failed to yield fruits. They are supposed to send a signed letter to the Chairman today to call for a Steering Committee meeting otherwise they would convene one and discuss issues affecting the party. DAILY GUIDE learnt that for almost a month, the party had not met�not even to review the recent limited registration exercise conducted by the Electoral Commission (EC)�and other pressing issues like the August 31 special delegates� congress to prune down the seven aspirants vying to contest for the presidential slot. �The General Secretary has hijacked every programme of the party and running a one-man show,� noted a disturbed party guru. A source in the party told Daily Guide that the invitation sent to the party for the PV Obeng funeral was never discussed among the executives, but the Chairman and the General Secretary and lately, the Women�s Organiser, Otiko Afisah Djaba, were seen hiding it from the other national executive members. Anger Some angry party foot soldiers besieged the NPP�s headquarters at Asylum Down in Accra yesterday ostensibly to �show the executives red.� They were however, prevented by security men at the main gate from entering the premises, advising that Kwabena Agyepong had not returned from his trip to Kumasi. For several hours, some of these angry party foot soldiers, including popular activist, Hajia Fati, popularly known as �Aliga,� waited in front of the headquarters in anticipation that Mr Agyepong would show up for them to confront him. But that was not to be since the controversial General Secretary and his other colleagues failed to turn up. The long wait was however, not without an incident as one person fell victim to the charged party faithful. The young man, whose name was only given as Adusei, a lackey of Kwabena Agyepong, was said to have ridiculed the angry supporters, leading to a heated argument between him and Hajia Fati and resulting in the exchange of blows at a spot almost 50 metres away from the headquarters.