General Secretary of the governing party, Johnson Asiedu Nketia has defended the National Democratic Congress’s acquisition of a national headquarters in the capital, Accra.
“I don’t know where this idea came from that having a party headquarters is a crime in this country, I don’t know, honestly,” he told party supporters in the Volta region Saturday in response to criticisms that the party used $20 million to put up the building.
“…I didn’t understand all the hullabaloo about the national office which we have acquired,” he said.
“I want to confirm that: ‘Yes we have acquired a national office and we intend acquiring regional offices and then proceed to acquire constituency offices because we are a permanent organiSation: we are not a temporary institution, so we have come to stay and therefore it is good and prudent to acquire our own offices.’”
The former Legislator, known more by his sobriquet, ‘General Mosquito’, said: “If people are talking about the cost, which they have manufactured for themselves, I want to tell you that it is far cheaper to build a party office than to buy 300 pickups for one campaign.”
“All the political parties have been buying pickups for these campaigns [and] nobody has been complaining, so if we use it to build a party office, we have built an office…”
“If people choose to spend $90,000 a night at big hotels in Kumasi that is their money: they decide what to do with it, but if it were NDC, we’ll build a guest house in Kumasi so that anytime our flagbearer goes there he’ll sleep there,” General Mosquito said at the regional conference to elect new executives.
A former MP for Kadjebi-Akan constituency, John Kwadwo Gyapong, popularly known as Gyapong Kudjo, emerged as the new regional chairman.
He polled 176 as against his closest contender Mawutor Agbavitor, who got 101 votes. Other contenders include Dr. Kwame Ampofo, 5 votes; Captain George Nfodjo, 6 votes; and Kosi Kedem, 1 vote.
Mr. Gyapong, who was the party's director of election in 2012, also contested the last regional election in December 2009 and lost by nine votes to the now former chairman Kwesi Aboagye.
He again in 2012 contested the MP slot for Kadjebi-Akan and lost to an independent candidate, Joseph Kwadwo Ofori.
Also, incumbents, Simon Amegashie-Viglo, Simon Myles Bakar, Henry Ametepe and Mercy Kuada retained their positions as regional secretary, treasurer, organiser and women organiser respectively.
Egypt Korbla Kudoto, a Personal Assistant to the transport minister, Dzifa Attivor has also won the regional youth organiser slot of the party.
