A flagbearer-aspirant of the main opposition New Patriotic Party, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, says choosing the wrong presidential candidate for the party ahead of the 2016 general elections, will mean waiting till thy kingdom come before winning electoral office.
“As a party, we aren’t waiting to capture political power in Heaven but right here on earth,” the former Trades Minister said.
“The success of every politician is measured by his or her ability to capture political power”, he said Thursday.
Apraku is fighting six other contestants for the leadership slot of Ghana’s biggest opposition party.
They include: two-time presidential candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, former Trades Minister Alan Kyeremanten, former Information Minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng, former Attorney General Joe Ghartey and MPs Francis Addai-Nimoh and Kofi Osei Ameyaw.
An Electoral College of about 800 people will whittle down the number to five, per the party’s constitution, which provides that there be a Super Delegates’ Conference to prune down the number, if more than five aspirants contested the slot. The mini conference is scheduled for Sunday August 31, 2014.
Subsequently, an Electoral College of 141,000 will elect one of the last five on October 18, 2014.
The former Minister of Regional Integration told private FM station, Peace that: “The foundation of the NPP is shaky and the impending congress shouldn’t be about money or friendship ties. It must strictly be based on competence and this time is mine”.
He wondered why the party lost power in 2012, even though it had the best opportunity at that time, to have won power from the governing National Democratic Congress.
“Ex-president Kufour managed to beat ex-president Mills on two occasions even though the latter entered the contest for the first time as a sitting vice president. But during his (Mills’) dying moment, he also beat the person (Nana Akufo-Addo) who represented the NPP.
“We must look at the attributes of the candidate we intend to sell to voters in 2016. Ghana’s problem is with our economy and fortunately for me, I have broad knowledge in this field...since we left government, I have worked as a consultant for the UN working for ECOWAS and I can use the same plans here”, he said.
