When The Al-Hajj in the heat of the just ended election petition revealed that some kingpins of the opposition New Patriotic Party, particularly Mr. Kwabena Adjapong have started secret campaigns to stake claim to the leadership of the party ahead of its national delegates congress to elect ‘new’ national executives, many were those, including the personalities involved, who discredited the story and called us names.
Interestingly, The Al-Hajj’s revelation about the former Press Secretary to ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor and one-time flagbearer aspirant of the NPP, Mr. Kwabena Agyei Agyepong’s elaborate plan to give his political ambition a foremost boost by contesting the party’s General Secretary position has finally been let out of the bag.
Information gathered by this paper suggests that in a clever way to activate his ambition, Eng. Kwabena Adjepong acting through a group calling itself ‘Friends of Kwabena Agyepong’ has embarked on a canny crusade to flag his credentials as the best man for the General Secretary position even before the party opens nomination.
Our sources within the NPP revealed that, the ex-sports commentator’s decision to oust the incumbent and acerbic General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie a.k.a Sir John, was bolstered by the latter’s dishonorable and reprehensible conduct which was in full glare during the election petition hearing, and more importantly ,his licentious and indecent way of handling issues, which they say have badly dented the image the party.
Unlike the incumbent and disgraced chief scribe of the party, crusaders of Mr. Adjapong’s bid say, he has the requisite experience in communication and on top of it all, he is a fine gentleman and less abusive character that will not needlessly open his mouth on the spur of the moment to react to ‘any’ issue in the media.
Political analysts see this thunderous public chanting by his supporters to have him contest the chief scribe position, as a move fanned and orchestrated by Mr. Adjapong himself to test his popularity and public reaction to his bid; even as it may come as a surprise to many Ghanaians, especially when he had previously denied this paper’s publication of him clandestinely campaigning at the time his party was busily challenging the legitimacy of President Mahama in court.
Last week, a group calling itself Friends of Kwabena Agyapong issued a statement pregnant with the credentials and political achievements of Mr. Adjapong to ostensibly impress on him to contest the party’s General Secretary position at the impending congress of the party.
Bits of the statement reads “Friends of Kwabena Agyapong wish to officially endorse him to contest the position of a General Secretary for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the upcoming elections… He brings excellent credentials to the position of a Secretary. With proud enthusiasm we endorse Mr. Kwabena Agyapong and call all NPP members to support him.”
Meanwhile, The Al-Hajj has gathered that the statement by the group was to counter any positive dividend Mr. Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie’s lousy public chanting and support for Nana Akufo-Addo to lead the party into the 2016 elections might be making.
It is widely believed in the NPP that the much discredited Sir John who has come out of the election petition hearing with several lacerations, especially when he was convicted by the nine member panel of the Supreme Court for criminal contempt, deliberately sidestepped the party’s constitution to endorse Nana Akufo-Addo in order to win the sympathizers of the latter’s supporters for his second bid as General Secretary.
Considering this as a major threat to his resolve to politically circumcised the foul mouth chief scribe, Mr. Adjapong as part of his plans is using the group, which this paper is in the know has dispatched some of its members to various regions to start courting the grassroots of the party in support of his bid to checkmate any crude tactics Sir John might deploy to outsmart him.
When contacted by this reporter, Mr. Adjapong declined comment on the statement saying “I will not talk to your paper. In the past, you have written lots of lousy things about me and Alan without contacting me…, why on this one you’ve called me?”
