Dr. Kobina Arthur Kennedy, a leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party has assessed the speech delivered by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the 2021 Conference of the party which was held on Sunday, December 19, 2021.
Arthur Kennedy is impressed with the speech as it calls for fairness in the race for the party’s flagbearer but he believes that President Akufo-Addo must go beyond the rhetoric.
Arthur Kennedy says President Akufo-Addo must be not be seen to be acting in ways that differ from what he preached at the conference.
“The president’s comments were good but I hope that his actions will speak louder than words. That he says that the contest should be balanced and fair and then he will be seen to be doing the opposite, will undermine his comments,” he said on Okay FM.
Arthur Kennedy also expressed concerns over what he observed as the overly partisan and ethnic politics being introduced in the contest for flagbearer.
It was reported during the conference that Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia was led to the events ground by Ashanti Regional caucus of the Majority side of Parliament.
Arthur Kennedy says he would have welcomed it if the MPs represented constituencies from various parts of the country.
He admonished the NPP to be cautious about the development because the infiltration of religion into the contest could have dire consequences on the party.
“I would have been happier if the MPs diversity reflected the past. If some came from the North, Ashanti, Volta and Bono then it shows that this is a general thing. We emphasize ethnic plus religious differences too much.
“There are people I’ve known for over thirty years who I had never discussed religion with them until this year. It is because, in this contest, religion has come to the fore in a way that is very unnerving. We need to be very careful that these things we are doing, we don’t end up inflicting on body politics and past,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo at the conference said that it is his wish to hand over to an NPP government in 2025.
That he said, can only be achieved if members of the party unite and sacrifice for the greater good of the party.
“I want to be able on the 7th of January 2025 to go to Black Stars Square in Accra and hand over the baton of government to the NPP presidential candidate,” Akufo-Addo stated.
He added, “We want to break the 8 not just for ourselves but for Ghana because we know the zigzag, NPP comes to clean for them to be polluted, this is not the way progress will be brought to our country.
“We need a secure period in office to make that irreversible change in the fortunes of our nation and we are capable of doing it. We will get a candidate that will unify our party and all of us will campaign to make that candidate the next president of the Republic,” the President stated.
