NPP UK Chairman seeks to use fake letter signed by Freddie Blay to reinstate indicted secretary

There have been rumours floating around amongst the members that, the NPP-UK Branch Chairman, Mr Kwaku Nkansah, has received a letter purported to have come from the NPP National Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay, instructing to reinstate the Branch Secretary, Dr Aboagye Dacosta, who has been on self-suspension as a result of an incident that led to the Inquiry Committee's report which indicted him to have stolen $20,000 entrusted unto the Branch Executives, to help organise a befitting funeral rite for the late Chairman of the Branch Council Of Elders, Mr Michael Boye-Anawomah in London.

This matter, after the Three Member Inquiry Committee found unequivocal evidence to indict the Branch Secretary, Dr Dacosta, was taken over by the National executives who were at the UK Branch emergency meeting in London couple of months ago, to be decided finally in Ghana. At that meeting were the General Secretary Mr John Boadu, Chairman Freddie Blay, National Women's Organiser Ms Kate Gyamfua and other regional executives.

However, at the Branch Executive Committee meeting which took place on Thursday, 17th Jan, 2019 in London, the Branch Chairman, Mr Kwaku Nkansah presented a letter allegedly signed by Mr Freddie Blay for the committee members to glance through and be informed. The Chairman ardently refused to allow any Executive Member who wanted to have close perusal of the letter to take pictures of the letter at the meeting and also refused to hand copies to them.

Information available is that, when some concerned UK Branch Executives took the pain to contact the NPP headquarters in Accra to verify about the veracity of the letter, the secretariat in Accra told them they are not aware of the supposed letter signed by the National Chairman.

At the meeting, some Branch Executives who were concerned about possible breach of the NPP constitution with regards to the alleged Blay letter, did draw the attention of the Branch Chairman, Kwaku Nkansah to the fact the responsibility of the National Chairperson is mainly the convener of all the meetings of the National Delegates Conference, the National Council, the National Executive Committee and the Steering Committee of the National Executive Committee, to suggest that, any of such letter from NPP headquarters to reinstate a suspended Branch Secretary would rather bear the signature of the General Secretary.

The NPP constitution, Art 9.F (iv) states that; "The General Secretary shall be responsible for overseeing the operations of the Party’s

National Secretariat and coordinating the activities and operations of the Party and of all employees of the Party at Constituency, Regional, External (Branches) and National levels.

The Inquiry Committee's report concluded under its advisory opinion that, "The Committee recognises that the terms of reference for this inquiry implicitly requires it not to make recommendations. We refrain from making recommendations and abide by the terms of reference. However, the Committee appreciates that a key member of the Branch Executive Committee Dr Da Costa Aboagye (the Branch Secretary) being the principal subject of this inquiry, with the Branch Chairman Kwaku Nkansah sufficiently implicated in this saga and still at post, the Committee finds it appropriately in the interests of justice and fairness to express its opinion, as members of the Branch, on what will be adequate sanction to redeem and safeguard the integrity and reputation of the Branch. The Committee is mindful that with the chairman being at post and being sufficiently implicated in this Dr Dacosta Aboagye’s scandal, the ability of the Branch Executive Committee to issue appropriate sanction commensurate with the gravity of the findings will be seriously conflicted or compromised."

It is the Committee’s advisory opinion that:

"It is in the best interests of the Branch party in an effort to redeem and safeguard its somewhat damaged image, and in Dr DaCosta Aboagye’s own interests to resign from his post as a secretary of the Branch since continuing to front and represent the branch despite the findings we have made in this report will cause further damage to the reputation of the UK Branch."

"Failure to achieve the above propositions, the Committee advises that the Branch Scretary, Dr Dacosta Aboakye, should be suspended from his position for the remainder of his term for bringing this Branch and the party into disrepute and failing to carry out his duties faithfully and with honesty to the best of his ability in accordance with Article 3(D) (i & v) of the NPP Constitution."

Giving the gravity of the issue about the $20,000 stolen and the weight of evidence found against the Branch Secretary, Dr Aboagye Dacosta as seen in the report, and considering the explicitly expressed opinion/advice by the Three Member Inquiry Committee, constituted by the UK Branch Executives Committee, and with the information about the forged letter claimed to have been issued and signed by the National Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay which the Branch Chairman, Mr Kwaku Nkansah seeks to use to reinstate the indicted Branch Secretary. This would be tantamount to increasing the enrangement and deepening the already volatile situation in UK Branch.

Some NPP UK Branch members are strongly oppose to this dubious move and have vowed to resist any attempt to impose Dr Aboagye Dacosta on the Branch party.