Paul Afoko’s election can diffuse NPP’s Akan tag

A Political Science Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), says the election of Paul Afoko as National Chairman of the party could diffuse the long-held perception that the NPP is an Akan or Akyem-based party.

Mr. Afoko, who hails from the Upper East Region, beat competition from three other strong opponents to win the slot. He is the first northerner to lead the NPP since its transition from the Northern People’s Party.

Mohammed Abass told the Host of the Ultimate Morning Show, Kofi Owusu, that if the trend remains unchanged, it will go a long way to help the NPP. He says the choice of the party’s delegates indicate their readiness for power in 2016.

“I think it will go a long way in that direction. Let’s not forget that nothing actually comes without any sensation or stimulus preceding it. The label that the party is an Akan or Ashanti party also has some sensation or stimulus that people have interpreted to draw such conclusions. So obviously, it is also going to change these perceptions eventually. That is why I emphasized that, they shouldn’t have any pre-conceived way of doing things, but they should allow the realities and circumstances; which means they have to be very pragmatic and as you see things, you don’t stand in their way.

“I was amazed when it was Paul Afoko who won, because this was somebody who was almost disqualified, which to me would have been a serious problem for the party, but I think it is good for them that eventually he was cleared, he took part and it turned out this way. So it’s a great lesson for not only the executives or the big people within the party, but for everybody that these days we don’t have pre-conceived way of doing things”.

“If you want people to have confidence in you to work for you, be able to look at the realities, what are the indicators, what are they telling you and work with them. So I think it will go a long way to do away with that perception if they allow the trends to continue and they don’t stand in the way of things” he stressed.