Clash looms at NPP headquarters

-As Perry and Opare Hammond vow to resume work against Kwabena Agyapong’s wishes

There are hints of a fresh bout of hostilities in the headquarters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) between some sacked members of the party’s administration and the General Secretary of the party, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong.

The Republic newspaper has picked up intelligence that Opare Hammond, the Director of Finance and Administration, Perry Okudzeto, the Director of Communications and other administrators who were recently sacked by Kwabena Agyapong and party Chairman, Paul Afoko, are planning a comeback.

This is after the party’s Constitutional and Legal Committee led by Prof. Mike Ocquaye, issued a report last week that the dismissal and the subsequent appointment of deputy communications directors by the two helmsmen of the party were illegal. According to the report, before those officers could be sacked, the National Executive Committee (NEC) needed to have endorsed the move.

However, sources close to the General Secretary and National Chairman have indicated that the duo are bracing to resist the return of the sacked officials of the party, arguing that the report of the Constitutional and Legal Committee is baseless and should be “treated with the contempt it deserves”.

These two divergent determinations are likely to result in a massive clash, as the sacked officials have vowed to report for duty any time from now. This could result in the re-enactment of the recent violent clash at the party headquarters when two armed groups of the party faced-off over the dismissals.

Prof. Mike Ocquaye’s report indicated that Mr. Afoko and Kwabena Agyapong’s ‘arbitrary actions’ were a gross violation of the NPP Constitution, thereby ordering the General Secretary and the Chairman to withdraw those appointments and directives since those decisions were not put before the National Executive Committee of the party for consideration.

The legal committee’s opinion in the controversial report described the dismissal that happened almost a month ago as “improper" and an "anomaly".

But an unrepentant Kwabena Agyapong has dared the legal committee, saying its sitting was not authorized. “We urge all to disregard the said publication with all the contempt it deserves,” Kwabena Agyapong fired at the Prof. Ocquaye committee.

He said neither of the decision-making bodies of the party ordered the report of Prof. Ocquaye's committee, “Neither the Steering Committee, National Executive Committee nor National Council has referred the matter at issue to the constitutional and legal committee."

He vowed that he would not be cowed into rescinding his decision to sack the beleaguered Opare Hammond and Perry Okudzeto, “Assuming without admitting that the matter was even referred to the constitutional and legal committee, they could only proffer an opinion for consideration. That opinion can only be advisory and not mandatory,” he fumed in a statement issued late last week.

Kwabena Agyapong and Paul Afoko are believed to be strong opponents of the twice defeated presidential candidate of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and are doing everything possible to offset the relative popularity that Akufo-Addo is enjoying.

He is said not to be operating alone; party sources told this newspaper that the General Secretary and the Chairman are fully being backed by very powerful individuals in the party who are bent on tilting the balance of power from Akufo-Addo to his opponents such as John Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng.

As part of their strategy, party officers perceived to be allies of Akufo-Addo are being systematically eliminated from the decision-making realms of the party.

Kwabena Agyapong with the support of the party Chairman, Paul Afoko, since assuming the helm of the party’s administration, has unilaterally sacked party officials and replaced them with his hand-picked ‘cronies’ against party regulations and without consulting the National Executive Committee- the highest decision-making body of the party.

The first person to be sacked was Opare Hammond, the Director of Finance and Administration of the NPP. He was sacked for "No concrete reason”.

According to Opare Hammond, he was summoned to a meeting with Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyapong, where he was told they cannot work with him.

According to party sources, Kwabena Agyapong’s authoritarian reign has alienated several party supporters. For instance, he has driven away all the party supporters who hang around the party headquarters, saying they were defacing the place.