General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Mr. John Boadu has appealed to party delegates to allow those of them who have spearheaded the re-organisation of 2016 to complete what they have successfully started.
He stated that the next presidential and parliamentary elections would be the most difficult polls to be contested by the NPP as it seeks to “break the 8”, which no political party has been able to do in the fourth republic.
Mr. John Boadu who has led the party as General Secretary to win two successive general elections urged party members to repose trust and confidence in him, as they have always done, and support him to make history for the NPP.
“Indeed, together, we can make history of ‘breaking the eight’ to continue to deliver prosperity to our people and country,” he stated.
The NPP chief scribe made the appeal yesterday when he declared his intention to seek re-election as the party’s General Secretary.
According to him, having laid the solid foundation in preparation towards the 2024 general election, it is imperative not to bring an entirely new and relatively inexperienced team to lead the party in next polls.
Mr. John Boadu stressed that the party, by the end of the national elections, must come out with an excellent blend of the experienced hands, such as an experienced General Secretary, who has seen it all, to guide and assist the new national chairman, the new National Treasurer, the New National Organizer, the New National Youth Organizer, and more importantly, the New Presidential Candidate, to effectively prosecute the elections of 2024, in order to break the eight-year cycle.
He said the decisions that the party will make now will have a direct impact on its electoral fortunes during the 2024 general election and whether the party can fulfil its appointment with destiny to break the 8.
The journey so far
Mr. John Boadu explained that even though he did not have any higher political ambitions when he began his journey at a polling station executive for Ablekuma, the journey led him to the position of General Secretary.
He disclosed that as the then National Organizer, he had the onerous responsibility of organizing the rank and file across all levels for the 2016 election at the peak of the NPP’s all-time worst internal crisis in the buildup when the party’s National Chairman and General Secretary were suspended.
“The burden of delivering a seemingly impossible electoral victory for the then ‘disintegrated and crisis-ridden NPP’, was essentially placed on my shoulders.
“I was called upon by the National Executive Committee of the Party to assume the huge responsibility of heading the party’s National Secretariat as the Acting General Secretary. Additionally, I was given another layer of responsibility as the Director of Operations and Logistics for the party’s 2016 campaign.
“I worked to unite and harmonize the 275 constituency campaigns with the Presidential campaign, as well as invigorate, incorporate, and include our growing volunteer groups with the regional and local campaign efforts”, he added.
Mr. John Boadu said he graciously accepted the challenge and went ahead to competently blend these three strategic positions, together with his communications prowess, and delivered an unprecedented victory for the NPP in the elections by winning the Presidential elections with over 1 million votes.
“Not only that, we also snatched as many as 55 Parliamentary Seats from the then governing NDC,” he added.
Promises made
Mr. Boadu indicated that after being appointed General Secretary he made 18 promises to the party in 2018, not based merely on the desire to win but on the vast experience he gathered from the many years he had served the party and true to his words, he fulfilled all these promises.
The NPP, he said, defied various odds including the COVID-19 pandemic and went into, and won the elections of 2020 and made history in the presidential election by winning with over 500,000 votes.
He however admitted the challenges in the parliamentary primaries and the many seats the governing party lost in 2020.
The NPP chief scribed stressed that rather than condemn the performance, the executive should be applauded for steering the NPP to safety and for demonstrating bravery, experience and calmness in the midst of turmoil. The party, he indicated, has overcome the challenges of 2020, it is time to examine the trajectory of the flight and make the necessary corrections and improvements for breaking the 8 in 2024.
