Reckless Comments: Let Akufo-Addo resign first before… - Arthur K

A leading member of the New Patriotic Party is surprised at the call for the party's General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, to resign for making irresponsible comments.

Arthur Kennedy says Sir John cannot be asked to resign when the party's 2012 flagbearer Nana Akufo-Addo, who he deemed to have made an equally irresponsible comment, in the infamous All-die-be-die mantra, is still at post.

He said an irresponsible comment is "a political product" of the system and stressed it must be uprooted.

If somebody has to resign over irresponsible comments, it must not start with Sir John, Kennedy said in an interview with Joy News' Evans Mensah.

A founder-member of the NPP, Dr Nyaho Tamakloe, has demanded the immediate resignation of the NPP General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, who has been convicted of criminal contempt.

Tamakloe said even though Sir John escaped jail sentence, the humiliation alone he suffered from the panel of judges hearing the presidential election petition should be enough for him to honourably resign his position without being asked to do so.

In a reaction, Arthur Kennedy, in part, agreed with Tamakloe that the comments made by Sir John were irresponsible, but disagreed with him on the mode of punishment to be meted out to the party's scribe.

"How can we ask Afriyie to resign when we are defending all-die-be-die?" he asked.

When asked if it is his wish for punitive measures to be taken against the party's flagbearer over the All-die-be-die mantra, Arthur Kennedy said the comment was made in the past and that the party must look ahead in the future and take disciplinary action against anybody, irrespective of the position the person occupies in the party.

He said the party and the country as a whole has been saddled with people making irresponsible comments, adding a clear decision must be made as to the code of conduct and punishment to be meted to anybody who breaks the rule on responsible commentary.