Suspending Afoko will muddy NPP waters — Lecturer

The decision by the Council of Elders of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ask National Chairman, Paul Afoko to be suspended has been described as a step which will “further muddy” the party’s ‘waters’.

Some political watchers have described the move as one that ‘could deepen the woes’ of the NPP because instead of healing the party, this decision would rather worsen the cracks within the rank and file of the party.

The main opposition in Ghana has in the last few months been in the media for all the wrong reasons, especially among its senior executives. The latest twist to the never ending drama in the NPP was when the Council of Elders wrote to the National Disciplinary Committee to suspend Mr Afoko until after the 2016 general election.

The letter calling for his suspension was signed by one of the elders C.K Tedam and was copied to the flag bearer, Nana Akufo Addo. It indicated that the Chairman had breached portions of the party’s constitution and must be disciplined.

Sharing his thoughts on the issue with TV3 News, a Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Aminu Dramani, said: “It’s surprising that it is the senior ones in the party who are fighting each other or among themselves.

“I would have said that instead of discussing their matters in the media, they should rather deal with them internally or they could muddy the water the more. If they are arguing that he [Paul Afoko] has breached their constitution then they could go to the disciplinary committee to look at what punitive actions there are per their constitution”.

“It’s better that way than to make it look as if there is a plot against someone… That way, it would be difficult to get to the bottom and resolve the problem. They should remember that the political aim is to win power in 2016.”

Meanwhile, the flag bearer of the party, Nana Akufo Addo, has asked all members of the party to desist from discussing the party’s issues in the media.

Yesterday, Nana Akufo-Addo was expected to take his ‘Arise and Build’ tour to the Upper East region.

He has so far visited the Volta and Eastern regions. The tour is part of his campaign strategies for next year’s general election.

Special aide to the NPP flag bearer, Mustapha Hamid, said the campaign would take a different format in the three regions up north.

“It will be a seven or eight-day tour which will begin today. The objective hasn’t changed except that some of the dynamics will change because of the religious setting of those regions. It is a predominantly Muslim community and so that will be factored in the message.”

“In the Muslim centres, he will promote peace and urge that we rise against what is bad and promote what is good,” Hamid stated.