Ghana’s ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the election of Nana Akuffu-Addo as its presidential candidate in this year’s general elections is sending shivers down the spine of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). This comes after the opposition NDC described the election of Akufu-Addo as illegitimate. It also questioned the internal democratic principles of the ruling NPP. But the ruling party says the allegations are baseless and should be treated with the contempt that it deservers.
Lord Commey is the national organizer of the ruling NPP party. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from Ghana’s capital, Accra that the opposition NDC party should mind its own business.
“First of all, it portrays a party that is really afraid, that is really scared of the election of Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffu-Addo as the NPP flag bearer. Other than that I think that, it’s not their business to determine how the New Patriotic Party would want to run its own internal affairs. So first of all one would ask, what is illegal about Nana Akuffu-Addo’s selection”? Commey asked.
He described the opposition accusation as old politics and diversionary tactic calculated to thwart the surge of the ruling party.
“But it is an old kind of politics trying to divert, probably trying to create attention to themselves, we are not perturbed about that. Akuffu-Addo’s election sends shivers, real shivers down the spine of the NDC leadership and its rank and file. And I think that is positive for us and it is a good start for us towards getting ourselves into the campaign making sure that Ghanaians would vote for us again come December,” he noted.
Commey denied the party’s presidential aspirants election was a fraud and said the opposition should seek redress in court if they so wish.
“I think that sometimes you don’t dignify some of these wild accusations with even a response. That’s why I have decided to treat it with contempt because it deserves contempt. The NPP’s article 12 is very clear on selection of our flag bearer, and so far as we are concerned we went through the motion, there is nothing illegal about it, and we have course to think that we have perpetuated an illegality I think that is why the courts are there. And if they are so interested, they can seek redress at the courts. As to whether or not I orchestrated whatever they are talking about, I think it’s baseless and unfounded,” Commey said.
He said the ruling party’s presidential candidate has no intention of destabilizing the country by prosecuting former President Jerry Rawlings as speculated by some.
“I guess that if you have something to hide then you must be afraid of prosecution. And I would want to believe that the constitution has transitional provisions that cover the ex-president and all those who worked with him during the revolution, during the coup de’tat eras. There are people who have called for second look at the transitional provision, and I hold the same view as well because in a democratic dispensation there should be no room for coup makers who at the end of the day would fashion out constitutions and then create clauses to indemnify themselves and all stuff,” he said.
Commey denied speculation that the party’s presidential candidate is a hotheaded elitist.
“Nana is not hotheaded. On the contrary, Nana is a very level-headed person. I want to believe that Nana playing a very key role in President John Kufuor’s government and also being the attorney general, one of the first attorney generals of President Kufuor’ regime, if he had interest in calling or making an amendment towards this transitional provision in order to prosecute Ex-President Rawlings and his cohorts, he could have done that. I think that Ghana has come a long way. We are moving on and I can assure you that the NPP government now and the one that would come will not certainly do anything to role this country backwards. We believe in Ghana,” Commey pointed out.
He said all well-meaning Ghanaians should protect the peace and stability that Ghana currently enjoys.