Apropos of the NPP, it is 5 candidates, I slot. At the end of the filing of nominations five candidates had filed to contest the primaries; Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, ex-Vice President, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, ex-Minister of Education, Kennedy Agyapong, ex- Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kwabena Agyapong, ex-General Secretary of the Party; Dr. Bryan Acheampong, ex-Agriculture Minister. Each of the personalities had to cough up GHȼ600,000.00 consisting of GHȼ100,000.00 nomination fee and GHȼ500,000.00 filing fee.
This would bolster the party coffers by a whopping GHȼ3,000,000.00! Money, money, money: so, now it is no longer “domo” in NPP but “money cracy”. And “amnesty” given to the “dismissed” persons including Alan Kyerematen, Chairman Paul Afoko had one
unreasonable caveat: not to contest any party office, till after 2 years!
Is this the same party which appealed to a great number of our friends? We give thumbs up to Lawyer Atta Akyea; “Do you know the number of people who have contributed significantly to the party but have always remained silent? … If you have money but you cannot think properly, how can you lead? …. It takes more than money to govern a nation.
Patience is part of it, and calmness is also part of it….” The innuendo in Atta Akyea’s remarks counter balances the boast of affluence, as Bryan Acheampong would say: “I funded NPP Eastern Region candidates and executives with GHȼ52 billion in 2024”; Kennedy Agyapong has on certain occasions touted his assistance to NPP including paying
GHȼ1m as salaries to workers of the party.
Frankie writes: “The way politics has been monetised in this country, very soon drug barons, sakawa criminals, money launderers and all manner of criminals with pin brains will take over the country ….
The President has delivered the coup de grace on the Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Araba Esaaba Sackey Torkonoo. This has irked some of the NPP sympathisers and apologists.
Afenyo-Markin says: “We’re mourning democracy… ” You claim that you have charges against the Chief Justice you are done with count one, counts two and three are not concluded, and then you dismiss the person. That is the work Pwamang did as a judge …”
In a debate at TV3 on Monday, Ayikoi Otoo using his 45 years experience as a legal person could not come to terms with this fiat. But where had the President gone wrong?
What is the constitutional breach: The law is the law so, Justice Torkonoo “had done no
wrong”? Why is it only some NPP lawyers who are trying to defend Justice Torkonoo and
even bastardising the current composition of justices on the Supreme Court.
The President had received a petition from Daniel Ofori against CJ Gertrude and he referred the petition to a committee under Article 146 (6). The Committee after a thorough review
of the petition and evidence adduced; established grounds of “stated misbehaviour” and recommended the removal of the Chief Justice.
In accordance with Article 146 (9), the President has acted on the “binding recommendation”. Don’t forget, the Constitution’s Article 146 (8) “All proceedings under
this Article shall be held in camera …” Justices Baffoe Bonnie, Pwamang … deserve to “chop” the positionof CJ “small” before they go on pension! It is good that the Committee wholeheartedly welcomed the defence of CJ Gertrude Torkonoo by prominent Ghanaians.
“The die is cast” (lacta alea est) and Julius Caesar had “crossed the Rubicon”. Each petition
carried the punishment of dismissal: the other one or two can be ignored: “de minimis non curat lex”. Mahama in faraway Singapore had stated he will abide by the Constitutional provision of “two terms”.
If he had listened to the likes of Honourable Blay or socalled
“prophets” like Owusu-Bempah, he could have insisted on going for a third term, thereby
plunging the country into political chaos. OR he would have done what Alassane Ouattara (Cote d’Ivoire) has done with a new Constitution in 2016, and seeking a 4th term … OR Faure Gnassingbe (Togo) who has been in power since 2005, with changes in the Togo
Constitution making the Presidency a family property OR Yahya Jammeh who overthrew
Sir Dauda Jawara in a bloodless military coup, changed the Constitution ruling autocratically and saying “If I have to rule this country for one billion years, I will, if Allah says so” …. till he was beaten in Presidential election by Adama Barrow in 2016.
OR Blaise Compaore who ruled from 1987 attempting to change the Burkina constitution until his government was overthrown in 2014 OR Teodore Obiang Nguema Mbasongo (Equatorial Guinea) who overthrew his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema in a military coup
in 1979, ruling by decree and changing the Constitution to continue ruling; and in 2022 (at 83) he was re-elected OR Paul Biya (Cameroon) the longest ruling non-royal leader of the world since 1982 (43 years on the Presidential seat).
At 92 years, he is still the President having served 8 terms OR General Yoweri Museveni
(Uganda) who came to power in 1986 through a bush war; he has ruled over 36 years frequently changing the Country’s Constitution: Having once said: “The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to over stay in power” it is surprising that he still cherishes staying in power, OR Jose Eduardo Santos
(Angola) who has ruled more than 35 years (elected after the death of first President Agostinho Neto).
He stepped down in 2017. The Akwatia by-election was fought between the NPP’s ….
Asumadu; a miner (?) and NDC Bernard Bediako Baidoo. The latter won by 18,199 with the NPP man garnering 15,235. Why this result? Political strategy, unity, cohesiveness,
compared with NPP’s lack of co-ordination – We are waiting for the resignation of Otchere Baafi, the NPP MP for New Juaben who had said: “I’ll resign if we (NPP) don’t win this election …”. Remember the saying: “Promises mean everything, but after they are broken sorry means nothing”.
What campaign did NPP have? To spice this week’s story, let us examine the quarrel of the Ga people over the replacement of “Akwaaba” and “Woezor” with “oobage”. Isn’t it a storm in a teacup. No hard or bitter words. Let us be polite to one another. Until now, we had never heard “oobage”. So, Asantes would think other tribes in Ghana would just “hail” us without trying to assert themselves? We like the Ga man who jokingly said: “We want to
trend a little”. Let us see other words that would help the Gas to trend a little, not only
“akpeteshie”.
Asantes should never talk of championing the removal of the name Kwame Nkrumah from the then University of Science and Technology Kumasi. But Niime, naame, let us remind the Gas they have great advantages which other tribes don’t have. All the government offices have their headquarters in Accra, because that is the capital.
Imagine a boy from Hamile in the North coming to Accra to look for a job – if he was to go to the Igbo township in Accra? Do the NPP executives recognise that the attraction to the party is waning?
