Allow Bawumia, Alan focus on governance — Former NPP executive

A patron and former executive of the New Patriotic Party in the Upper East Region, Mr Charles Taleog Ndanbon, has advised supporters of the party to support appointees of the government to deliver on the promises made to the citizens during the 2020 general election campaign.

He said the attempt to promote their favourite candidates ahead of the party’s internal contest to elect a successor to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was ill-timed and destructive.

He has, therefore, appealed to party sympathisers to desist from the act and allow the possible contenders, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and the Trade and Industry Minister, Mr Alan Kyeremanten, to focus on prosecuting the President’s agenda for the nation.

Mr Ndanbon, a former Organiser and Financial Secretary of the NPP in the Nabdam Constituency, gave the advice when he spoke to the Daily Graphic  last Tuesday on how the party can synergise its efforts to achieve the manifesto promises and make a stronger case for retention in 2024.

Worrying trend

The businessman said he had noticed the worrying trend in the party in which people were openly lobbying for either Dr Bawumia or Mr Kyeremanten as flagbearer for the party but said such activities were disingenuous.

He said beyond having the potential to damage party cohesion and create animosity, the acts could distract the two key members of the government from prosecuting their agenda.

“What we need at this moment is peace in the NPP so that the government led by Nana Akufo-Addo can also have the peace of mind to work. The way people have started, I will not be surprised if we start seeing divisions even at the grassroots,” he said.

Mr Ndanbon, who is the Assemblyman for Zoliba-Tindongo Electoral Area in the Nabdam District, added: “I will suggest that we all concentrate and play any role that we have been assigned in the NPP. The President has not even finished with his appointments. I want all the people doing that to stop igniting rivalry at this early stage because it will not help the party.”

He noted that it was gratifying that national, regional and constituency executives had not joined in the campaign for Dr Bawumia and Mr Kyeremanten and thus called on them to maintain that stance into the future.

Internal contest

He said the supporters should understand that the silence of Dr Bawumia and Mr Kyeremanten to their actions meant that the two party stalwarts were indifferent to them and were rather concentrating on governance, and they should be supported to succeed.

He noted that the road to the choice of a flagbearer was long and only patience and diligence would enable the NPP to reach it in a united front.

“The party has not even finished with constituency, regional and national elections to even select the delegates for the flagbearer election and we are here busily working hard on something that could separate these two men and the followers. If they are not able to work together, the party will suffer and the country may not even benefit much from them and our party,” he said.

Upcoming election

Mr Ndanbon lost the Regional Organiser position of the NPP to the current Organiser, Mr Jerry Asamani, in 2018 and has since remained in the background supporting the party.

He said although he was still passionate about serving the party, he had not decided on what to do.

He is yet to decide on the role he could play in the party after sufficient consultations with his family and leading functionaries of the party.