Petition for the Removal of Kwabena Agyepong is a mere ruse

By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Folks, you must have already read the news report carried by Myjoyonline.com that some card-bearing members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are piling pressure on the leadership of the party to begin processes to oust Kwabena Agyepong as the party's General Secretary.

The four petitioners are Chris Arthur, Former TESCON-KNUST President; Adreba Kwaku Abrefa Damoa, London; Kwabena Afum Dankwa, London; and Kwame Baffoe, NPP Regional Youth Organiser, Brong-Ahafo Region.

Their reasons?

1. Agyepong's "... exhibiting gross misconduct, and engaging in deals tantamount to venality whiles in his elected position as General Secretary”.

2. His "still holding out Paul Afoko as the National Chairman contrary to the position of the National Executive Committee". (“Kwabena Agyepong has rubbished, and keeps rubbishing the suspension of Afoko from his chairmanship. This in our view is an act of mischievous contempt for the authority of the Party as a whole, including its elders, its leadership, and its structures.”)

3. Agyepong's "taking unilateral decision as a General Secretary with particular mention of a waiver he gave to some party parliamentary aspirants and the launch of a party card".

4. Agyepong's utterances and statements in the media are “always inimical, and counterproductive to the efforts made by the flag bearer, whiles he contributes little or nothing towards building a strong Party, knowing very well that general and Presidential elections are less than a year away.”

5. Agyepong's being involved in too many misdemeanours which are injurious to the fortunes of the party.

6. Agyepong's "questionable" allegiance to the NPP and his flirting with the governing National Democratic Congress. (See http://www.myjoyonline.com/politics/2015/November-4th/npp-leadership-petitioned-to-show-kwabena-agyepong-the-exit.php#sthash.Zp5Te54z.dpuf)

MY COMMENTS

This move is as shameful as it is mischievous to create a misleading impression that the NPP isn't functioning on the basis of ethnicity. It is a pure Asante-Akyem hegemonistic cabal being led by an overly power-hungry Akufo-Addo that won't tolerate any dissension. Axing Paul Afoko has a lot more to do with that disposition than the trumped-up allegations levelled against him. In any case, those allegations are as childish and self-damaging as will be proved by later developments.

What has been initiated against Agyepong is a mere ruse. It won't see the light of day for many reasons:

Unlike Afoko, Kwabena Agyepong is one of them (the Asante-Akyem cabal) with a deep tap root in that political culture. The NPP has done negative politics with the dastardly abduction and murder of the three High Court judges (one of whom was Agyepong's father) and Major Sam Acquah. They won't negate their own political capital by neutralizing him just like that.

In other words, Agyepong has a backbone and cannot be broken as easily as has been done to Afoko, someone with no tap root in the NPP but a ridiculous reference to the "Dombo" afterthought in that political tradition. He could be easily dealt with as an outsider. And if he is wise, he should find his way out before they harm him all the more. A Builsa royal of his sort shouldn't allow himself to be so denigrated by the "Kabonga" mafia.

For Kwabena Agyepong, not so. His prominent role in the Kufuor administration also speaks a lot for him, which explains why he has so much bravado to do and say things as he does. He cannot be easily bent or broken.

The NPP's National Executive Committee or National Council (whether of elders or whatever) will not meet to discuss this petition against Agyepong because it won't want to touch one of its own "royals" in that political cabal without looking over shoulders in constant fear of losing grounds in the party's stronghold.

After all, Agyepong knew that Afoko had been suspended but went ahead to insist that he still recognized him as the NPP's National Chair. And he refused to attend yesterday's NEC meeting because he didn't want to be part of the massive illegality that anything done without Afoko's involvement has become.

In effect, then, Agyepong doesn't recognize Freddie Blay as the Acting Chair and won't allow himself to be cajoled either. He has nerves and must know what he is standing on to behave that way. He is no mere dare devil at this point.

None of those being petitioned will raise any eyebrow either. They know as much as Agyepong does that "things will knock things" more roughly if he is touched.

It is clear that any decision to axe Agyepong will automatically seal Akufo-Addo's sad fate long before Election 2016 is held. Mark it down that the reported lukewarm attitude toward him from Kumasi (Ashanti Region) as we were told by Samuel Boafo is just a child's play thing. If they have the guts, let them do to Agyepong what they did to Afoko, and we shall all see hell break loose in that cabal.

Again, if the NEC of the NPP decides to act on the petition, it will itself be torn apart, clearly because of expected dissension in its own ranks as to what to do to Agyepong.

Intriguingly, if they fail to act on the petition too, they will be setting themselves up for a huge mockery. So, they are now stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. The question, then, is: What will the NPP's NEC or Disciplinary Committee do about this petition against Agyepong?

I suspect strongly that some behind-the-scene moves will be made to douse the fire (which will definitely cast these NPP leaders in a bad light) or the NEC will push the petition to the back burner and simply gloss over it (as if sleeping dogs will want to be left to lie).

Knowing them for their political rhetoric, I expect them to begin making utterances---in fact, talking a lot but making no sense at all---to divert attention from this petition to other issues. Then, the matter will die a natural death. But how will Agyepong continue to function as the General Secretary in this circumstance? That is a thorny issue for these self-righteous gasbags!!

Meantime, if suspended eventually, will the NPP go into Election 2016 with an Acting National Chair and an Acting General Secretary? Laughable. I suspect that after a while, the NEC will convene to confirm Blay as the substantive National Chair, provided no internal agitation dislodges him from his new-found position. Such a political prostitute is making the NPP all the more unattractive. Why are these people so good at pouring sand into their own gari?

I shall return…

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