Navrongo Central NPP Chairman, Anthony Kofi Mensah
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Navrongo Central Constituency in the Upper East Region says despite suffering a defeat to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2020 general elections, it still has a good chance to improve votes come 2024.
The party said, though the defeat was brutal and devastating, it could still make a giant comeback and take back the parliamentary seat in 2024 and also gain massive votes for the presidential slot.
The leadership of the party who took turns to address members during a Conference for Delegates held last week, said the party at the constituency level would have been formidable if not for some unaddressed concerns.
The concerns, according to them, were responsible for the defeat in the 2020 general election and are still undermining the growth and chances of the party. They named indiscipline and disrespect for elders and party structures by the young members, disunity as part of the setbacks.
Joseph Kofi Adda, the former Member of Parliament for the area, who expressed serious worry over the level of disrespect among the youth in the party, he reminded members of the importance of respect for the elderly and unity in winning an election.
He said even though the constituency was blessed with two abled Ministers in President Akufo-Addo’s first term, the disunity in the party did not allow for proper use of those positions to the benefit of the constituency as far as winning the elections was concerned. He said it was a shame that he believed the President was not blessed with.
He continued that even more worrying was the level of indiscipline and disrespect among younger members of the party for the elderly. He said elderly members of the party, including himself, have come under constant verbal attacks by party members young enough to be his children, furthering that it was a behavioural challenge that needed to be checked as it brought no good to the party.
Mr. Adda in conclusion called for a unified party, inclusiveness, concerted efforts and a strategic work plan ahead of the 2024 general elections. He noted that having a strategic work plan and combining efforts was the surest way to recapture the Navrongo seat from the NDC.
“When we are together, we need to respect one another. When we are together, we need to be selfless. We must be sincere in what we do. If you don’t respect and you are rude and you insult, you will never get anyone to come and join you. There must also be an element of inclusiveness. You can never win an election if you can’t bring people together,” he emphasized.
Sheik Abdallah Otito Achuliwor, an elderly member of the party, in his speech called on the youth of the party to be wary of the things they engage in, advising that some actions could destroy the fortunes the future has in store for them.
He called for forgiveness for one another for any wrongdoing and stressed the need to reconcile with one another and heal from every hurt.
Sheik Otito said, “Let’s rethink and when we are rethinking, let’s rethink well. Let’s forgive, let the past belong to the past and let’s have a future because the future belongs to the youth. Don’t let us do anything that will destroy the future for us.”
The former Upper East Regional Minister and 2020 Parliamentary candidate for the NPP, Tangoba Abayage, for her part, used the opportunity to clear the air on the speculation that she has a faction in the constituency.
She made it known that she did not have a faction nor supports divisiveness adding that anyone who causes trouble in her name was doing so on their own. She stated that the only faction she recognizes is the New Patriotic Party and nothing more.
“I’m standing here today on the authority that I have as myself to state that I don’t have a faction in Navrongo central constituency. Anybody who wants to does it on his or her own. I don’t have a faction, please don’t go and fight for me. My faction is the New Patriotic Party,” she said.
Ms. Abayage like the other speakers also hammered on the need for unity among party members, with a call to members to forgive each other, heal the wounds and reconcile.
She said, “Let us forgive. Let us heal the wounds because the only way we can recapture is to heal the wounds and unite. Resources don’t win elections, unity wins elections”.
The constituency chairman, Anthony Kofi Mensah, noted that the keen division in the party would not help in its development. He said the division has robbed the party of the unity and victories it enjoyed years ago.
He however revealed that he would sit with Mr. Adda and Ms. Abayage to iron out any differences to allow calm return to the constituency for greater prospects for the party in the future.
He said as part of measures to curb conflicts within the party, leadership would consider going for a consensus in the selection of parliamentary candidates for future elections, in place of the primaries which have caused a lot of divisions in the constituency.
The Chairman stated that but for the division in the party, the NDC parliamentary candidate could not have won the election.
The New Patriotic Party in Navrongo held its Annual Delegates Conference on the theme, “Reflect, Rethink and Recapture.”
The conference had in attendance the party’s Regional Chairman, Anthony Namoo, the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Chief Executive, William Aduum, Regional and Constituency Party Executives and other party bigshots.