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The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has appointed a former General Secretary of the party, Mr Dan Botwe, as its Director of Campaign Strategy. The position, which is mandated by the party�s constitution, means that Mr Botwe, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Okere, will be in charge of and also co-ordinate the party�s campaign strategies for a successful victory. The NEC also set August 8, 2009 as the date for the party�s national emergency conference for the consideration of the proposed amendments to its constitution. It will take place at the Trade Fair Centre in Accra. Mr Peter Mac Manu, the National Chairman of the party, who briefed the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said the decisions were taken at the NEC meeting, which was held on June 25, 2009. He said another major decision arrived at at the meeting was the celebration of the party�s 17th anniversary, which falls on July 24, 2009, as well as the conference to evaluate the contribution of the leaders of the tradition towards attainment of independence and the development of the country. �The two occasions will also be used to rename the party�s tradition as the �Dankwa-Dombo-Busia� instead of the Dankwa-Busia�, the national chairman said. He explained that the conference would be attended by five delegates from each of the 230 constituencies, 10 from each of the 10 regions and national executive, as well as all the party�s Members of Parliament (MPs). Giving a little background, he said the process of amending the party�s constitution started before the party went into the 2008 general election and it was under the chairmanship of the late Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, the Chairman of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee of the party. He said after the elections, the General Secretary and committee members received and worked on the memoranda and other suggestions from members of the party across the country, as well as from the party�s oversees branches, concerning the proposed amendment. Mr Mac Manu said after the necessary compilation, the committee put together the proposed amendment and held meetings with constitutionally mandated stakeholders who had agreed the proposals should be put before the conference for acceptance or otherwise. He added that copies of the proposed amendment had been made available to all stakeholders for study before the conference. He said the party had also put together a committee to undertake a nationwide tour to brief party members about the proposed amendment. The national chairman said the committee had also been tasked by the NEC to brief members of the party about recent happenings in the country, especially about the supposed political persecution and harassment of political appointees under the Kufuor Administration at the hand�s of the state security apparatus.