Nkrumaists re-group to seek unity

A new political pressure group, United Nkrumahist Front (UNF), has been formed in Sunyani with the aim to unite all the fragmented Nkrumaist parties under one umbrella to contest the 2024 general election.

Under the leadership of a leading member of the Convention People's Party (CPP), Alhaji Kalifara Mustapha, the group said it was poised to restore the true legacy of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

That, the UNF said, would be done through the re-engineering of the time-tested pioneering policies that were championed by Dr Kwame Nkrumah for the holistic development of both the state and citizens.

About 100 Nkrumahists from the Bono, Bono East, Ahafo and Ashanti regions, who gathered in Sunyani last Thursday, were made up of members of the Convention People's Party (CPP), People's National Convention (PNC), Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the Progressive People's Party (PPP).

Media engagement

 Some of the Nkrumaists who gathered in Sunyani under umbrella of the United Nkrumaist Front

At a forum to interact with the press in Sunyani to outline its vision, members of the movement affirmed that the only way for the Nkrumaists to be recognised as a force in the current political dispensation was through unity.

Addressing the gathering, the Election 2020 running mate of the PNC, Dr Divine Ayivor, said the antedote to the current economic problems in the country lay in the implementation of policies put in place by Dr Nkrumah.

"Let us, therefore, apply our energies to make this effort to unite the Nkrumaist front be a reality," he stated and called on Nkrumaists from the grass roots to resist any attempt by leaders of the fragmented Nkrumaist parties to deceive them to go solo.

Dr Ayivor said for almost 30 years both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) had not been able to use the country's resources to provide better lives for Ghanaians.

"We want to give hope to all Ghanaians," he stated, adding that the formation of the UNF was laudable and should, therefore, be supported by all well-meaning Nkrumaists, since none of the fragmented parties could win an election alone.

For his part, Alhaji Mustapha said “the single votes that the various Nkrumaist parties record at polling stations during elections is a clear indication that Ghanaians do not take us seriously".

"Let us be truthful to ourselves. We are no more recognised by Ghanaians as a political group in the country. The chunk of our members are now members of either the NPP or the NDC," he stated.

Enough is enough

In an address read on his behalf, the National Administrator of CPP, Nii Adjetey Sowah, urged participants in the forum to be energised for action.

"We cannot continue to run our political parties as small NGOs," he stated.

A six-member interim executive of the UNF, with Alhaji Mustapha as chairman, Mr Michael Nketiah as secretary and Mr John Alagba as spokesperson, was introduced to the gathering.