The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is looking forward to bring back all its aggrieved members that have left the party due to internal wranglings during it parliamentary and presidential election.
The party said it is ready to resolve all issues including the independent candidate in the just ended Ejisu by-election – Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, so it enters into this year’s campaign as a united group for victory 2024.
Speaking after Kwabena Boateng’s victory in the fiercely fought Ejisu by-election in the Ashanti Region last Tuesday, national chairman Stephen Ayesu Ntim, said reconciliatory talks is all the party needs at this time to curb any surprises .
“Personally as chairman of the party I am not comfortable. We should be able to bring them to the fold, the party’s fold so that come December 7, there will be no surprises”, he said.
Adding “Yes, it is worrying because the two main competitors, Aduomi and Kwabena Boateng belong to the same fold, family. We should not be looking at jubilating, I’m not jubilating. My focus now is no how to bring the Aduomi factor back to the fold, bringing him back to the family.
So that in December when we are going to face the real political opponents, we are going us a unified NPP front. It shouldn’t be difficult at all. Whatever it is, we are going to reach out. As a national chairman, I’m promising you, we will take up the mantle and reach out to him”.
Early on Sunday April 28, Mr Ntim ahead of the election on Tuesday revealed the intention by national leadership to begin the process by going to every constituency across the country where there are divisions and acrimonies and members are threatening to go independent to settle these issue on time.
“We want to curtail this issue of people who were with us going independent. I am promising you that after this election, when we are successful and get lawyer to Parliament, national chairman and all national executives including the one standing beside me here [pointing to national executive Nana B] we have pledged to ensure all constituencies with issues as a result of the last primaries are resolved”, he said.
The Tuesday election characterized by a number of bribery claims came about as a result of the sudden demise of the then Member of Parliament (MP) John Kumah, who was also a deputy minister Finance.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) voluntarily opted out but was contested by a former MP and former deputy minister for Roads and Highways Kwabena Owusu Aduomi as independent candidate.
The three times MP was accused as the candidate of the NDC or being in bed with the opposition group. The civil engineer was labeled as a tractor.
The flagbearer of the NPP Dr Mahamudu Bawumia asked voters of Ejisu to reject Mr Aduomi as he was planted by the NDC.
“The NPP government has improved the lives and the people of Ejisu than the NDC. Nothing really worked during the NDC era…. MPs don’t sponsor projects; they lobby for projects from the government in power … in parliament, the NPP has 138 including the independent candidate while NDC has 137. And so, a vote for an independent candidate means handing over power to NDC and John Mahama. And so that is why the NDC did not fill a candidate for this by-election, they are sponsoring the independent candidate. Let’s all come out in our numbers on Election Day and vote massively for Lawyer Kwabena Boateng to continue the later John Kumah work”, he said Sunday to round up the party’s campaign activities.
But of course Mr Aduomi who said he did not care if he loses the election said denied allegation of his link to the NDC even though he said he enjoys a lot of support from the party in the constituency.
“I am not an NDC member. The NDC people like me because of the work I did that benefitted them. Where have they seen me wearing NDC colours? The NDC people want to vote for me because I am going independent and because of the work that I did for the constituency. I am not a traitor and NPP should rather solve all issues bothering all members of the party and should not favour some people against others. That bogus elections that they said they held at the polling stations, if the president has the party and the Ejisu constituency at heart, he will ensure that the issues that the people brought will be solved”, he said to round up his campaign on Sunday.
MP-elect Kwabena Baoteng in his victory remarks said “I do not think that the party is minded or that me as MP-elect is minded to neglect anybody not at all”.
Source: whatsupnewsghana