NPP Youth Group To Party Leadership: Boycott Ceremony To Honour Memory Of Paa Willie

A group calling itself the Concerned Youth For Unity within the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) have cautioned the party�s leadership to stay away from a planned ceremony to honour the memory of William Ofori-Atta, one of the leading propagators of Daquah-Busia-Dombo tradition. In a Press Release copied to PEACEFMONLINE, the group is of the view that though William Ofori-Atta has contributed immensely to the course of the tradition, the singular action of breaking away from the tradition to form his own party and later contesting Victor Owusu of the Popular Front Party (PFP), leading to their electoral defeat in the 1979 polls, is an indelible mark on his history which cannot be ignored. By this singular action, the Concerned Youth For Unity is of the conviction that a boycott of the ceremony by the leadership of the party would send a clear message to the rank and file of the party not to engage in activities that would bring the party into disrepute. Below is the full text of the Press Release by the Concerned Youth For Unity. The attention of the CONCERNED YOUTH FOR UNITY has been drawn to plans by some members of the Anyaa/Sowutuom Youth Wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to honour the memory of the late William Ofori-Atta. Paa Willie, as he was popularly known, will forever be respected and acknowledged in the history books of our great party. There is no question about the contribution of Paa Willie to the development of the Anyaa/Sowutuom Constituency. He lived in the constituency and for a long time remained a productive member of that community, facilitating the construction of the Maranatha Bible College, among other things. Our concern, however, with the planned honouring ceremony is with the shady timing of the event and the eager attempt to closely associate it with the party�s national leadership. But even before we come to those, we cannot leave the story of William Ofori-Atta without mention of his political decisions later in his life and how they affected the Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition. Mr Ofori Atta formed a splinter political party, the UNC prior to the 1979 election and actively campaigned against the Honourable Victor Owusu of the PFP. Mr Ofori-Atta�s actions contributed immensely to the defeat our political tradition at the hands of our fierce rivals. A win then, for us, would have been the perfect opportunity to implement our policies and project the image of our tradition, especially, as Dr Busia had earlier only served for a little over two years. Let us not forget that Mr Ofori-Atta�s formation of the United National Convention (UNC) is the genesis of our 30-year long stay in opposition. He actively supported former President Hilla Liman in the second round of the 1979 elections. It is on record that the UNC held counter rallies to that of the Popular Front Party (PFP), sometimes just a few metres away from where the PFP was holding its own rally. We, thus, have reservations about the fact that some members of the party seek to use the party machinery as well as invite some national and regional executives to grace an occasion in honour of William Ofori-Atta. We find that such an action only reminds party people of the pains of the past and rekindles an unpleasant part of our history. We ask that guided by good faith and loyalty to the New Patriotic Party, and its efforts to gain power, members of our national leadership who have been invited should boycott the event.