General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Kodua Frimpong has rubbished claims by a former flagbearer hopeful of the party, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen that the party has been hijacked by a selected few.
The former Trades Minister who resigned from the NPP to contest the 2024 elections as an independent presidential candidate also accused the party of skewing the processes in favor of one candidate and intimidation of his supporters during the super delegates conference on August 26, 2023.
But addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Justin Kodua Frimpong disputed Alan Kyeremanten’s assertion indicating that, the party has provided a level playing field for all.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the leadership of the Party equally disagrees with assertions made by Mr. Kyerematen in page eight (8) of his resignation address that ‘‘the Party has been hijacked by a selected group of Party leaders and elders, and government appointees behind the curtain power brokers’’.
“Guided by facts and data, the leadership of the Party disagrees entirely with this assertion. Historically, the selection of flagbearers for political parties in Ghana had been the preserve of a privileged few until the New Patriotic Party took the bold decision to decentralize the process by expanding its electoral college to enfranchise some One Hundred and Six Thousand, Five-Hundred and Ninety (106,590) delegates in 2010,” the General Secretary said.
He added: “Currently, about Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates would be voting to select the Party’s next flagbearer relative to the estimated One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight delegates (1,998) who did same in 1992. Clearly, the quantum leap to Two Hundred Thousand (200,000) delegates in 2023 underscores the decentralization of power to all Party stakeholders and defeats the assertion that the Party has been hijacked by a privileged few.
Justin Frimpong Kodua further noted that “In reference to Mr. Kyerematen’s concerns, which include allegations of intimidation against his supporters, it is noteworthy that certain government appointees, including cabinet ministers, who openly declared their support for him are still at post and have never been intimidated.
“Under the Fourth Republic, both the NPP and the NDC have had some leading members of their party breaking ranks to either form their own party, or join other political parties, yet the mother party remained resilient.”
Source: Kasapafmonline.com/102.5FM
