It�s Distasteful And Insulting That NPP Couldn�t Chose A More Decent Flagbearer

A member of the Communications Team of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Felix Kwakye Ofosu, says he finds it distasteful and absolutely unacceptable that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) failed to find a better person to lead the party than someone so enmeshed in allegations of drug abuse, saying �it is an insult to all of us that we cannot find a more decent, a cleaner...someone who is devoid of this kind of scandal to lead a major opposition party.� ��I am embarrassed as a follower of our politics that this is what the NPP is presenting to us�when there are people of decent standing�,� he said. Commenting on a recent article by the African-Watch Magazine that a cousin of the Nana Addo was goaled in Germany for money laundering, Kwakye-Ofosu said the publication has highlighted the sort of impaired judgement that the NPP flagbearer has. �As a Ghanaian, I shudder at the prospects of having a president whose judgment is so flawed as to make decisions that throws away his own political chances in an impending election. If you can throw away your political chances in such a reckless manner, then what can you not do when you become president�. he said. The latest episode of the monthly magazine, African-Watch has published that the flagbearer of the NPP is faced with another stumbling block and a new puzzle to unravel. In the latest case, according to the paper, �another top member of his inner circle has been tied to a criminal past involving drug trafficking. As a result some leading party figures want Akufo-Addo to clean his house�. According to the magazine, the said Nana Opoku Ofori-Atta is a cousin of Nana Akuffo-Addo and a leading financier for the party in the 2008 general elections and once served a jail term in Germany for money laundering. Felix believes the NPP flagbearer ought to exhibit the right sense of judgement by taking a firm stance on his relationships with such people, and also advised him to be mindful of the people he surrounds himself with. �You would expect Akufo Addo to have exercised more circumspection when appointing these individuals to serve him but we are told that he (Nana) has kept Amfo Kwakye (a member of NPP who has also been accused of drug peddling) as a close aide; a top advisor of his for many many years�the last thing you want is to have someone who has dealt in the same substance that you are alleged to be using�it leaves substantial doubts in the minds of Ghanaians that you will be able to do what is expected of you as a leader with respect to fighting narcotics,� he averred. Speaking as a panelist on Radio Gold�s Alhaji and Alhaji programme, the Oil and Gas Analyst said per his actions, Nana Akufo-Addo has unnecessarily ignited public discussions on the drug related issues against him, stressing that commentators like himself should not be blamed for offering their take on an issue that has become an albatross around the NPP flagbearer�s neck. �As a leader if there are perceptions surrounding you, what you do is to distance yourself as far as possible from those suggestions, but it appears that every move Akufo Addo has made has only gone to entrench those perceptions�it is your own actions that has confirmed to the people of this country that indeed the things that are said about you has some substance�what business do you have hob-nobbing with them (drug peddlers and money-launderers)?� he asked. In conclusion, Felix posited that if international bodies like the IMF strictly regulate the conduct of their employees judging by the terms of contract of Dominique Strauss-Kahn replacement, which cautions her to avoid �even a semblance or appearance of impropriety�, then Nana Addo�s drug allegations are not just a matter of public discussion, but a matter of national interest. To him, having somebody with such a questionable character gunning for the highest office of the land, �mocks our piety as a country�. �I propose that it is absolutely unacceptable to have this kind of scandal involving a major presidential candidate and I find it completely distasteful that such a person is still in the race to become president. It is an insult to all of us that we cannot find a more decent, a cleaner, a more sober, someone who is devoid of this kind of scandal to lead the major opposition party in this country. It is a major major scandal�I am embarrassed as a follower of our politics that this is what the NPP is presenting to us for Election 2012 when there are people of decent standing, when there are people who are not enmeshed in this kind of scandal, when there are people who have shown a clean track record in public service within that party; it�s a major embarrassment." "And I regret so much the demise of Mr. B.J Da Rocha. I am absolutely certain that had that man been alive, he would have publicly called for a change of their candidate. Because, if for nothing at all, when Nana Akufo-Addo stubbornly refused to accept defeat in the 2008 elections, B.J Da Rocha publicly repudiated him, chastised him, castigated him and asked him to move away from his pig-headedness so we could have some peace in this country; and I regret that there is nobody in the NPP who can stand up and be counted in this important national exercise. It is a matter of deep regret for me,� he stated.