If Kufuor and his Ashanti faction within the NPP had any reason to believe that Akufo-Addo and his Akyem faction will relent in taking over the party, events at the just-ended cosmetic congress of the party has proven Kufuor and his faction wrong.
The results of the congress speaks loudly and clearly of Akufo-Addo’s Akyem faction taking control of the party.
Akufo-Addo’s control of the party is not visible in the number of Akyems at the helm of affairs; it is visible in the surrogates who are working in the interest of the Akyem faction.
Using his Ga, Northern and Fante surrogates, Akufo-Addo is most definitely going to be elected as flagbearer of the NPP come December.
Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey (claims to be a Ga), Fred Oware (Central Region), Sophia Honer Sam (Western Region), T.B. Damba (Northern) Otiko Djabah (Dangbe/Northern), Mocta Bamba (Zongo), Anthony Karbo (Upper East), are the surrogates who have been used by Akufo-Addo to yank the party away from the Ashantis. The NPP, which has its base in the Ashanti Region with the party owning 36 out of the 39 seats, has only one national executive, in the person of Sir John. Speaking a day after the election, Charles Wereko Brobbey, on Oman FM, fell short of stating that the Ashantis cannot continue to support the party if other tribes are now in control of the party. Speaking to Fiifi Boafo, Wereko Brobbey said that it would be interesting to see how the Ashantis will respond to this configuration which has reduced them to sidekicks in the party.
Indeed, the announcement by Wereko Brobby that he will be contesting to become the flagbearer of the party, is precisely because he believes that an Ashanti must lead the party at all cost.
Speaking from Kumasi, one of Allan loyalists has made it emphatically clear that if after yanking the party from the Ashantis, Akufo-Addo, Jake and co go ahead and use their dirty rigging plan to make Akufo-Addo the flagbearer then that will be the end of the party.
“The NPP belongs to us the Ashantis and we will not sit down for the arrogant Akyem boys to take our heritage away from us” the Allan supporter said. “We are going to make sure that come December, Akufo-Addo does not become the flagbearer. But if he steals and wins, he should forget about ever becoming President of Ghana” the Allan supporter added.
Information gathered has it that in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions, there is a lot of disquiet about events that took place in Kumasi and how Akufo-Addo’s houseboys, cameramen and bodyguards voted in the name of proxy voting. Interestingly, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, a key member of the Akyem faction, is reported to have been the one in-charge of the proxy votes hence the manner in which Akufo-Addo’s office staff (including drivers and watchmen) voted in the name of some “azar” proxy votes.
“I swear, after slighting we the Ashantis, Akufo-Addo will never become President of Ghana. If he becomes our flagbearer, I can bet my last penny that NDC will get about 50% in Ashanti Region” Allan’s man added. I know it for a fact that Akufo-Addo and his Akyem mafia have been downing copious amounts of expensive champagne celebrating their victory over Kufuor’s Ashanti cabal. Apart from celebrating their victory, the Akyem mafia have made sure that they spare no opportunity to heap insults on Kufuor, Allan cash, Anane and other leading members of the Ashante cabal.
The NPP congress is over but the extreme factionalism between the Ashanti and Akyem factions in the NPP is just about to get a new lease of life. Indeed, at their so-called retreat at Asamankese to map out strategies for the party, insults flew in all directions with the likes of defeated Ohene-Ntow hurling insults at certificateless mulatto Jake Otanka Obetsebi Lamptey. A few days ago, Stephen Ntim (Kufuor’s boy), who failed on his second try to become Chairman of the NPP, issued a statement asking the new executives to work hard to unite the factions in the party.
Whether Stephen Ntim himself is prepared to work with Jake in spite of how some dodgy proxy votes tilted the victory in the direction of Jake, is another matter altogether.
The NPP is most certainly on a path to perdition and it would take something extremely divine to prevent the party from collapsing.
The Akyem/Ashanti NPP war is on; sayoooooo!!!!
Nana Biakoye
