NPP National Chairmen aspirants
As the NPP moves into top gear in rolling out processes for its national executive elections, one critical position to look out for is the National Chairman, which is expected to be keenly contested, as incumbent Freddie Blay bows.
Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Stephen Ayesu Ntim, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Sammy Crabbe, Akwasi Osei-Adjei, Joseph Nii Ayikoi Otoo and George Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah have filed their nominations to contest for the position, with all of them promising dedicated and selfless leadership to ‘break the 8’.
Stephen Ntim
Mr Ntim, a former national first vice chairman, has assured that the party, under his chairmanship, would extend its rule beyond the eight years’ maximum that has become the tradition for any political party in the country.
Touting his experience, he has floated the “Time Aso to Break the 8 campaign” slogan in branding himself as the ‘heir apparent’ to the position, after a dogged attempt to annex the seat on three occasions.
“My resolve to always avail myself to be elected as the National Chairman of the party emanates from my belief that the fast movement of our development and success as a country require an NPP government and an overwhelming parliamentary majority,” he recently said during one of his campaign tours.
He intends to focus on strengthening the party, creating equitable opportunities for all members and rewarding loyalty and hard work.
Asabee
Stephen Asamoah Boateng describes himself as the “new field commander” to break the eight years’ governance cycle for the party.
Launching his campaign recently, he stated that breaking the eight-year governance cycle requires a national chairman who is capable of building a formidable team.
“This is not the time for funfair, we are in a difficult moment, and we have a job to do as a team of gallant party members. I am ready to lead the NPP as the new ‘field commander’,” Asabee said.
He intends to restore the party’s unity, and strengthen the relationship between party members and government.
“Unity has become an overused word by most people without backing it with any track record. I have a proven track record of pulling people together to achieve a common goal. I demonstrated this during my NUGS days against the Rawlings’ military dictatorship. While in exile in the United Kingdom, I helped organise the young and elderly to push for the referendum that ushered in the 1992 Constitution in Ghana,” he had stated.
Abankwah-Yeboah
The National Treasurer of the party, Kwabena Abankwah-Yeboah, also made certain bold statements when he officially declared his intention. He said, if given the nod, he would use the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism to quickly settle all disputes within the party, especially at the constituency level.
That, according to him, would prevent aggrieved members from resorting to the law court. Mr Abankwah-Yeboah also indicated that he would bring everybody within the party on board at all levels to make it possible for the NPP to win the 2024 general election.
He also gave the assurance that he would be fair, neutral, compassionate, and a unifier in dealing with all members of the party on all party issues, while adhering to decisions made by the top hierarchy of the party.
He intends to empower party members, especially at the grassroots, with viable economic skills training initiatives so that they would be able to establish themselves.
Ameyaw Akumfi
The former Techiman North MP has promised to engender unity, commitment and discipline among the ranks and file of the NPP for victory in 2024.
As a way of motivating party officers to work hard, he intends to institute an ex-gratia scheme for them, if given the nod.
According to him, party executives sacrifice a lot towards the fortunes of the NPP, and that it is imperative that they are rewarded after all the hard work in order to give off their best.
Sammy Crabbe
A one-time Second Vice Chairman of the NPP, Sammy Crabbe says he is poised to unite the party with his experience, especially at the grassroots, to make the ‘breaking the 8’ mantra a reality.
This is the second time Mr. Crabbe is seeking to contest the position in the party after he was suspended by for flouting the party’s rules and regulations.
“I was suspended as National Second Vice-Chairman but not as a member. The suspension is over; I’m still a member of the party, and as a party member, I’m eligible to contest for any position in the party,” he asserted recently.
Osei-Adjei
A former Foreign Affairs Minister, Akwasi Osei-Adjei says “to ‘break the 8’, it is imperative for the NPP to choose experienced and mature leaders with the requisite wisdom to go back to the tradition of the party, and resurrect the spirit of old and uphold the values of service, sacrifice and reward of the great party.”
Mr. Osei-Adjei has vowed to empower the grassroots, strengthen internal democracy and foster consensus building within the party.
Ayikoi Otoo
A former Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, Nii Ayikoi Otoo intends to unite party members to build a strong and an impregnable defence of the party’s achievements. That way, he says, the party would remain attractive in 2024, and continue to remain in power.
“Let us remember that the goal is not to tear ourselves apart, and give ammunition to our opponents, but to work assiduously to retain power,” he said in a media interview.
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