NPP youth groups express solidarity with national executive

Youth groups in the New Patriotic Party have expressed solidarity with the newly elected national executive and assured them of the groups’ total support in the performance of their duties.

The groups, at a meeting with the National Chairman, Mr Paul Afoko, on Monday, urged the national officers to be encouraged by the total endorsement given them in Tamale and pursue a programme that would ensure that the NPP recapture power in the 2016 general elections.

At the meeting were the General Secretary of the party, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe, and  National Treasurer, Mr Kwabena Abankwa.

In a charged atmosphere,  the groups, drawn from the Greater Accra Region and comprising polling station agents , constituency and regional executives, marched to the party headquarters at Asylum Down in Accra on Monday to encourage the executives to work assiduously to ensure unity within the party.

The groups also called for the creation of a level playing field in the upcoming presidential primary of the party to elect a flag bearer for Election 2016.

The Greater Accra Regional Organiser of the NPP, Mr Archibold Cobbina, who spoke on behalf  of the groups, told the Daily Graphic after the interaction that they were at the party’s headquarters to  express solidarity with the newly elected national executive of the party. 

Mr Cobbina also assured the executive that they would open their doors to all aspirants to tour polling stations and constituencies in the region to solicit votes.

He urged their counterparts in other regions to also open their doors to all candidates who would pick forms when nominations open on June 6. 

Mr Cobbina noted that they believed in the principles of democracy, and commended the newly elected national  executive for upholding the constitution of the party and the rights of  all members to ensure fair play. 

He commended the actions of the party executive towards the restructuring of the party and ensuring a level playing field for all the flag bearer aspirants, so that at the end of the day whoever would be elected as the presidential candidate of the party would have the backing of the people.

“The 2016 election is crucial, and the unity of the party is more important, if the party is to wrest power from the National Democratic Congress,” he said.

Mr Cobbina observed that the youth in the country have lost hope in themselves because of the incompetence of the ruling party who, he claimed, was amassing  wealth..

He explained that most of the youth in the country had no place to lay their heads, not to talk of their daily meal to provide them the needed nutrition and vitality to enable them to go through the day.

The regional youth organiser said the youth in the NPP would not close their eyes and allow that to happen.

They, therefore, pledged to work harder to bring the party.

He urged the newly elected executive to remain steadfast on the journey it had embarked on to rebrand and restructure the party to win power.

The General Secretary of NPP, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, advised the youth to visit the grass roots and explain the aims of their flag bearer hopefuls without rancour and vindictiveness.

He said  the formation of splinter groups within the party was alien to the the party and its constitution frowned on the practice, adding that sanctions could be applied to  those who conducted campaigns of insult which had the tendency to sow seeds of disunity and mistrust during and after the presidential primary.

He said the rank and file should serve the party and not individuals, emphasising the need for the youth to refrain from forming groups with the intention of  damaging their fellow party members.

Mr  Agyepong said what was more serious was that some party officers who knew  better its regulations and rules, instead of ensuring peace and harmony among their foot soldiers to uphold order, rather descended into the fray, using intemperate language, and warned that such officers could face stiffer sanctions  more than their supporters, if found fomenting division within the NPP family.

He thanked the youth for their dedication and sacrifice to the party and assured them of their readiness to work for unity.