Thumps-up for NPP National Executive Committee (NEC)!

As part of the preparation towards the participation of the 2016 general elections, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic (NPP) met early this week and came out with several proposals regarding the party's Parliamentary Primaries. Among the key decisions were:

• Each Parliamentary aspirant in constituencies with sitting NPP Member of Parliament - Filing fee GHC10.000.00 + Development fee GHC20.000.00 (GHC30,000).

• The meeting also adopted a proposal for only female aspirants to contest the 16 female Members of Parliament in their respective constituencies.

• Similarly, 12 coastal constituencies in the Greater Accra Region including Odododiodio, Tema, should be contested by Ga indigenes except in exceptional circumstances:

As usual, the proposal has raised debates from NPP and Non-NPP members. Listening to the arguments, it appears a significant number of party faithfuls are not happy with the affirmative action taken by NEC to protect and encourage female MPs. Some have begun to question the democratic values in the NPP. But the question is; when did these people begin to see that the democratic principles in the NPP were thrown in the bin several months ago?

Immediately after the dismissal of the NPP's Election petition in August 2013, no mean a person than the General Secretary of the NPP, Mr. Kojo Owusu Afriyie declared Nana Akufo-Addo unopposed for the flag-bearership, even in a wheelchair. Surprisingly, 100 NPP MPs led by the deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Dominic Nitiwul followed suit. Again, series of press conferences were organised by Regional and Constituency Chairmen, as well as executives and Founding Members to vouch for Nana Addo against the party's laid down rules and regulations. Most MPs even acted acted as agents for Nana Addo on the election day. Party members cannot easily forget the violent and wicked actions taken by Hajia Fati and Bugri Naabu with the view to making sure that nobody voted for any other contestant barring Nana Addo. To Hon. Atta Akyea, those of us who opposed the candidature of Nana Addo possessed witchcraft, because it was the turn of Eastern Region to get a president so that indigenes of the Region would get ministerial appointments. "Nana is already marketed"; "Nana is popular"; "No Nana, No Vote"; "Let's stick to the results of the Super Delegates' Conference" etc became the slogan NPP members in the course of the year.

In short, party members defied not only logic, but the party's Constitution to satisfy their whims and caprices. At some point, the same people complaining today even hailed NEC for its decision to hold the presidential primary in October instead of December. As the adage goes; "Obofuo nnim s3 ob3we adoa ti, anka ohoo no yie", which literary means, if the wicked knew he would be the one to eat the head of antelope, he would have preserved it well. If indeed, these agitators thought by virtue of Nana Addo's participation in both 2008 and 2012 presidential elections he had been well-marketed and thus deserved to go unopposed, why are the same people peeved about NEC's proposal to protect sitting MPs? Haven't the current crop of MPs been marketed enough to deserve another term? As Hon. Ken Agyapong said; if you belong to a "bogus party of idiots and fools", what else do you expect? We harvest what we grow and the wicked, unpopular, undemocratic actions we took in recent past have come to haunt us.

Let's shut up and support NEC to give us what we deserve. My only advice to NEC is to extend the privilege given to Gas to all other tribes. For instance, whilst only Gas should contest Ga seats, parliamentary seats in Ashanti, Brong, Eastern, and Central Regions must be contested by Asantes, Brongs, Akyems, and Fantes respectively. And we shall see where such decision would land us politically in 2016.

God bless Ghana! God bless the NPP!! God bless Kufuor!!!

Katakyie Kwame Opoku Agyemang, Asante Bekwai-Asakyiri

(katakyienpp@yahoo.co.uk)

0202471070 // 0547851100 // 0264931361