The immediate past Afigya Kwabre South constituency chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA) has appealed to the party to hold early congress to elect its flagbearer for the 2024 general election.
This, according to him, will give enough time for the party to address all the challenges that may emerge from the contest before the crucial presidential and parliamentary elections.
COKA as he is affectionately called in the political space, has therefore urged the newly elected National Executives to petition the National Council (NC), the second highest decision-making body of the governing party, to consider early congress instead of one year to the elections when the Party is in government as stipulated in the party’s constitution.
COKA made the call during an exclusive interview with Nhyira FM, a Kumasi-based radio station on Friday.
“I think the new executives of our great party must consider putting before the second highest decision making body, a proposal to hold an early congress to elect who leads NPP in 2024 elections.
“The Party’s constitution provides that when we are in government, we elect our flagbearer one year to general elections. However, we are not in normal times and we must remember that the constitution was made to serve us good.
Already, the signals from the ground are not very good. In fact, all the interested aspirants have people on the ground campaigning and creating division and tension in the Party. So electing a flagbearer earlier than the constitutionally stipulated one-year period will help the party put measures in place to address all internal issues that may emerge from the contest”, he urged.
Chairman Odeneho Appiah made the above submissions in an interview with a Kumasi-based radio station, Nhyira FM on Friday.
He was of the view that the party’s guidelines to regulate the flagbearership contest was good but may be very difficult to implement to get desired results.
“The guidelines issued by the party to regulate the internal presidential and parliamentary contests are very good. In fact, it will help bring discipline and sanity in the party but as a politician l can tell you that the leadership will find it very difficult to implement the guidelines going forward.
“The truth of the matter is that on the ground all the nine aspirants who have so far declared their intention to contest the flagbearer position have people campaigning for them. How are you going to sanction them?
“Indeed they are helping to energise the base of the party but l can also tell you that their style and message of campaigning are creating problems that the party will have to work on after the contest in order to have a unified front ready to break the 8year political cycle in Ghana in 2024”, he stressed.
COKA, Ashanti Regional Chairman aspirant in the last regional elections who was also the Chairman of Association of NPP constituency chairmen predicted that NPP will break the 8.
“I’m telling you that whatever it takes to break the 8 is being work on”, he stated.
According to him, government has started working on all identified challenges so far and that things would change by next two years for NPP to win the 2024 general election.
“Next time you see me here we will be talking about our third term victory. We’re doing everything to avoid apathy that affected us (NPP) in 2008”, he emphasised.
Economic challenges
Touching on the current economic challenges, chairman Odeneho pleaded with Ghanaians to exercise patience with the Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration.
“The NPP government is working assiduously to take the nation into the promised land. We shall definitely get to the promised land before 2024 general election. Let us all bear with the government and contribute our quota towards economic recovery agenda.
“We all have a role to play. For instance, we can help in reversing the trend of the cedi depreciation by patronising made in Ghana goods”, COKA pleaded.
