Kweku Baako fumes at NPP

Old age and tiredness seem to be catching up fast with Nana Akufo-Addo- NPP Flagbearer- and this is affecting his judgment.

Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr, a staunch spokesperson of the NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, and an unrepentant ally of former President Kufuor, has declared his disappointment in the leadership of the New Patriotic Party following the declaration of the party's ousted parliamentary candidate, Nii Noi Nortey, of his intent to contest the Klottey Korley seat as an Independent Candidate.

Nii Noi, who was recently muscled out through a re-run of the New Patriotic Party's parliamentary primaries on Wednesday, officially announced his intention to contest the Klottey Korley seat as an independent candidate at a press conference held in Accra.

The obviously disgruntled Nii Noi expressed his disappointment at the leadership of the party who, according to him, showed open bias in favour of his opponent, Phillip Addison, who many consider to be Nana Akufo-Addo's poodle.

Phillip Addison was the Lawyer of Mr. Akufo-Addo in the latter's failed attempt to overturn his 2012 electoral defeat at the Supreme Court.

Many political observers and commentators have met this news with disappointment. Mr Kweku Baako declared on Peace FM's Morning Show, Kokrokoo immediately after he was informed of the declaration that, "I blame the leadership of the NPP for what is happening at Klottey Korley."

Others who were interviewed on the matter expressed muted disappointment. Pollster Ben Ephson's response was no different on Kasapa FM's morning show. The immediate general response from key media persons’ point to a certain poverty of leadership at the top of the NPP.

For now, it appears that while one cannot fully estimate the local electoral strength of Nii Noi, the general postulation is that Nana Akufo-Addo will struggle to make any gains in Klottey Korley during the 2016 polls.

There are other views following the declaration by Nii Noi that suggest that, perhaps the single most important objective of the NPP flagbearer is not to win political power on November 7, but rather to consolidate his ownership of the NPP for the next 20 years as claimed by Andrew Awuni, a former Presidential Spokesperson under the erstwhile Kufuor/NPP government.

"My bid to be the Parliamentary Candidate was frustrated from day one because I was deemed not to be the favorite of the “big wigs.” Even when it was clear, I had the support of the masses and the voiceless; all attempts were made to ‘steal’ from us what rightly belong to us." Nii Noi Nortey 4 Independent, Klottey Korle Constituency.

"Ladies & Gentlemen, just when I was about launching my campaign to unseat the NDC in the constituency, I got wind of some petitions to NEC by Philip Addison and Nii Adjei Tawiah. I was convinced the party will allow the voice of the masses to hold. A court action was brought against the party and to my surprise, the current managers of the party failed to attend to the issues raised. In effect, there was a default judgment because the Party failed to file any Statement of Defence. The judgment was obtained the same day I was joined to the action.

"Realizing that as a Party, my lawyers will apply to have the judgment set aside, Lawyers for plaintiffs, quickly discontinued the case against the Party. There was no relief against me, so with the action against the Party gone, there was nothing to try and I was therefore not heard in Court. The issue as to whether there should be a rerun was never tried on the merits." Nii Noi Nortey 4 Independent, Klottey Korle Constituency

"I come into this race with a heart filled with passion to see our constituency develop. A heart to see our youth gain employment. A heart to see Klottey Korle as the heart of Ghana. As Addison said, he has the blessings and backing of NANA ADDO. I Nii Noi, have the blessings and unflinching backing of the grassroots." Nii Noi Nortey 4 Independent, Klottey Korle Constituency

"The Nomination form for the Parliamentary Primaries of 2015 contained the regulations for the elections. On page 13 of the document, it reads, “The General Secretary in consultation with the Regional Party may vary the election dates in certain constituencies as deemed necessary”. This provision obviously was to cater for unplanned eventualities and gave the necessary authorization for the conduct of these elections.

Friends of the media, these regulations were approved by the National Council of the party. The General Secretary, after postponing the elections three times due to appeals and court issues, in consultation with the then acting Greater Accra Regional Chairman who is the current substantive first vice chairman, Alfred Boye, fixed 2nd August 2015 and they communicated same to the Constituency Chairperson, Chairman of the Constituency Elections Committee who then informed all aspirants about it.

In fact, on Friday 31st July 2015, Phillip Addison admitted on Citi FM, a local radio station, to seeing the press release from the National Party but decided to boycott because he was not consulted. It is worthy to note that the machinations to kick me out from the contest by my opponents delayed and frustrated our constituency for 3 months, denying us of selecting our candidate.

Commentaries such as what my opponents were crying over should have come from Nii Noi Nortey, whose campaign had been frustrated by his fellow aspirants. They deployed all means within their plan to frustrate our constituency for almost 3 months." Nii Noi Nortey 4 Independent, Klottey Korle Constituency.