Akufo-Addo, NPP Leadership warn Party members to eschew bickering

The leaders have, therefore, charged the rank and file of the party to bury their differences and remain united towards a common cause.

Speaker after speaker at the party’s 29th anniversary in Accra yesterday charged party faithful to prioritise party unity over parochial interests, especially as it prepares for its internal elections.

They admonished party members to prioritise unity, to help achieve its objective of retaining power in 2024.

The NPP received its certificate of incorporation as a political party from the Electoral Commission (EC) on Wednesday, July 28, 1992.

The party, since its formation in 1992, has won four presidential elections upon resumption of multi-party democracy in Ghana, including 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2020 polls.

The event was held on the theme ‘NPP@29: A Tradition for Stability, Prosperity and Continuity’.

It attracted party bigwigs, including the Chairperson of the Council of Elders, Hackman Owusu Agyeman; Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; National Chairman of the party, Freddie Blay; General Secretary, John Boadu; National Organiser, Sammy Awuku; Members of Parliament and ministers of state, as well as supporters and sympathisers of the party.

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Leading the charge is President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who told the gathering that the party would not accept or tolerate any kind of backsliding and bickering that often disrupts its forward march to victory.

President Akufo-Addo was optimistic that his successor would emerge victorious in the 2024 general election, noting that over the years, the party was dedicated towards advancing the ideals and values of the country’s democracy, and should work towards consolidating the gains made so far.

“And I am very confident that on December 7, 2024, the new NPP presidential candidate is going to win the election,” he stated.

“Our objective and responsibility are to do whatever is necessary to make sure that that victory is forthcoming.

“We have to continue our way forward in Ghana. We cannot continue to accept the backsliding that takes place every now and then.

“It hasn’t benefited our nation and will not benefit our nation. The foundations that we are laying today for the prosperity of our nation will be shaken if, again through our own fault, we allow the path of progress to be diverted,” President Akufo-Addo advised.

President Akufo-Addo appealed to members of the party to close their rank and file and remain united for victory in the next general election.

President Akufo-Addo recounted the difficulties the founding fathers of the party endured in establishing it as a formidable political force in the country.

“Today, the challenges that confront our country, the difficulties that we have been plunged into by the COVID-19 pandemic are going to give us the opportunity to grow stronger and stronger, and that strengthening of our party and its organs means one thing,” he added.

National Chairman of the NPP, Mr Freddie Blay entreated members of the party to prioritise unity over parochial interest.

This, he said, was the only way that the NPP would remain in government and continue to execute its social contract with the people of Ghana in terms of its development.

In his opinion, the NPP is the only party that can deliver that, and the party must keep it so and must be very united irrespective of their own personal interests.

General Secretary of NPP, Mr John Boadu recounted some landmark policies and programmes the party had implemented over the years that had transformed lives.

These include the School Feeding Programme, Livelihoods Empowerment Programme Against Poverty (LEAP), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Free Senior High School Policy (Free SHS), Mobile Money Interoperability Payment System, Digital and Property Addressing System, Paperless Port System, National Identification System, Planting for Food and Jobs, ‘One District, One Factory’, ‘One Ambulance, One Constituency’, and many other social interventions that had alleviated poverty.

Mr Boadu stated that despite being a centre-right political party tradition that believed in private enterprise, it had implemented more social intervention programmes than any political party in Ghana.

He acknowledged the contributions of the party’s founding fathers and stalwarts who made immense sacrifices towards sustaining its political tradition that takes its root from the United Gold Coast Convention, United Front Party, National Liberation Party, Progress Party, and Northern People’s Party.

Source: Elvis DARKO || The Finder, Accra