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A group calling itself The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Zongo activists, made up of members from all the 47 constituencies in the Ashanti Region, has called on the leadership of the party to disregard a request by the Council of Elders of the party to suspend the National Chairman of the party, Mr Paul Afoko.

It said any decision to uphold the request would not augur well for the party and had the tendency to derail the party’s chances of winning the 2016 presidential elections.

Wednesday, the National Disciplinary Committee of the party met in Accra, but as of press time, the outcome of the meeting was not known.

Wrong perception

However, at a media briefing in Kumasi yesterday, the Zongo activists declared that “already the perception out there is that the NPP do not like northerners and any attempt to carry out this decision would be lending credence to this perception.”

The group further alleged that the purported decision of the council was being masterminded by just a few people who “do not like the national chairman and have vowed to make his reign difficult.”

In the view of the group, the call is an attack on all members from the northern parts of the country and “we would not hesitate to advise ourselves if the party carries out the suspension.”

First Northern Chairman

Speaking on behalf of the group at the press conference, one of its leaders, Mr Awal Mohammed, said the national chairman was overwhelmingly voted for by the delegates at the party’s congress in Tamale, an indication that “he has the support of the people.”

This, he said, was achieved in spite of the attempts by certain individuals within the party to scuttle his ambition.

He said since the pioneering role played by Simon Diedong Dombo in the formation of the NPP, “this is the first time in the history of our party we have a northerner as national chairman.”

Warning

Although they were not specific, some of the members who were at the press briefing indicated that they would not hesitate to withdraw their membership from the party if the national chairman was suspended.

According to them, aside from playing into the hands of the opposition, the decision would also be seen as a hatred for the people of northern descent.

Volta Region fumes

Relatedly, some regional and constituency executive members of the party in the Volta Region are fuming at the party’s council of elders for requesting the suspension of the National Chairman.

The group, known as Concerned Volta Region and Constituency Executives of the NPP, said the decision by the council “is insulting" and warned against the use of "diabolic means" to oust Mr Afoko.

“It is a sign of disrespect for us and a slap on our faces for anyone to try and use the back door approach to undo what we did in Tamale,” the group said in a statement last Tuesday.

The council, in a seven-page letter to the NPP’s Disciplinary Committee last week, ordered that steps be taken to suspend Mr Paul Afoko from the position of Chairman of the largest opposition party.

But the group has described the directive as unwarranted and uncalled for.

The statement was signed by Mr Ayivor Evans, Deputy Volta Regional Organiser and Mr Apugiba David, the Hohoe NPP Chairman.

It stated, “As executive members, we feel insulted by the actions of some members of the party who are seeking to revoke the mandate given to Mr Afoko and General Secretary, Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyepong through diabolical means.”

According to the statement, what was of immediate concern to the group was the purported petition by members of our National Council of Elders to the Disciplinary Committee to suspend our national chairman.

“We think that the petition is unwarranted, uncalled for, unconstitutional and a serious drawback to the efforts of our Flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo and the leadership of our party to mobilise the grassroots towards victory in 2016,” it stated.

According to the statement, it was strange that while the flagbearer and his team were on the field trying to mobilise grassroots support for the party, some elders of the party have chosen this same period to drop a petition to suspend our national chairman.

“What is more worrying is that the flagbearer used the same period to promote reconciliation within the party. This very action appeared to have diverted attention and taken the shine off the tour. We are now wondering who the real enemies of Nana Akufo-Addo are,” the statement asked and added: “We the concerned executives and the teeming supporters of the NPP in the Volta Region wish to state that we are disappointed with the action of these elders and call for the immediate withdrawal of the petition. This petition will only worsen the troubles of our party and that is unacceptable.”

The group, in the statement, backed the call for a total ceasefire and a return to the peace table as intimated by Nana Akufo-Addo.

Meanwhile, a Political Science Lecturer of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology has warned that the council’s decision could further muddy the party’s waters.

Background

Last week, Mr C. K. Tedam wrote to the disciplinary committee of the party requesting it to suspend the national chairman until after the 2016 elections.

According to the letter, the request to the disciplinary committee would enable the party to focus on the important issues of preparations for the 2016 general elections and not least to assuage the worries of the teeming supporters and the majority of Ghanaians who were yearning for an NPP return to turn around the fortunes of the country.