NPP UK and Ireland Change Leadership

The UK & Ireland Branch of the NPP held its AGM on the 25th of September where new Executive Officers were elected. At the keenly contested election Hayford Atta-Krufi an Educationist and Lawyer was elected as Chairman to replace Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong by 46 votes to 22 . The First Vice Chairman Adamu Daramani a Senior Manager in the UK National Health Service was re-elected to serve for another term.

Other Office holders elected were Alhaji Issah Danjumah as 2nd Vice Chairman, Eugene Antwi as Secretary, Eric Agyemang as Treasurer, Nana Agyemang Gyebi as Publicity Secretary, Kwadwo Nyantakyi-Kankam as Financial Secretary, Jennifer Amponim-Boadi as Women's Organiser, Francis Augustus Badu as Youth Organiser and Ishmail Osei as Assistant Secretary. Other Executive members elected were, Mrs. Elizabeth Boakye, Alex Owusu Boakye, Matthew Kyeremeh and Kofi Opong Boadu. There was a tie in the contest for the position of Organiser between Marlon Anipa and Kojo Gyebi Ababio which would be resolved at the next General Party meeting.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Atta-Krufi, the newly elected chairman said there were no winners or losers in this election and the victory for the day was that of the Branch Party?s. He immediately called for party unity in ensuring that Positive Change Part III becomes a reality. He implored on the new Executives to introduce a new politics of humility in the way they exercise their duties.

He thanked the old Executives for a job well done and paid a particular tribute to the out going chairman for his dedication to duty. He said the voice of change expressed by the members should not be for the sake of it but for a positive change in line with the programmes of the mother Party in Ghana.

He thanked the electoral team for their professionalism and clarity of purpose and said that since the NPP UK election was the first of the many local elections by NPP in Ghana; it should be a pathfinder towards the choice of progressives who will get the job done. It was his hope, he said, that the new Executives will be a channel of this positive change and see themselves as ?workers in the Lord?s vineyard?.

He finished his acceptance speech with a powerful quote from the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi that where there has been despair may he bring hope, where there has been injury, pardon and where there has been sadness, joy and finally where there have been doubts, may he bring true faith in the values of NPP.

The UK & Ireland Branch has been central to the NPP Party with a host of current serving ministers and Senior Government appointees coming from that Branch. It was a hot bed to opposing the Rawlings dictatorship particularly before the ban on political parties was lifted where they made the leadership of current NDC feel unwelcome during the PNDC era by their high profile agitations.

Observers from Commonwealth Secretariat and other International agencies were present to grace the peaceful and smoothly run elections.