The perfect time for the New Patriotic Party to make the re-election bid of John Boadu a reality is this weekend’s Delegates Congress in Accra.
The delegates only ultimate choice for the job ahead of the 2024 general election is John Boadu, the man with the natural prowess to keep hold of the Party structures.
The NPP, is going into the 2024 general elections, with a new National Chairman, because the current National Chairman is not seeking re-election, a new National Organizer because the current National Organizer, is not seeking re-election and even more compelling is the fact that there will be a new presidential candidate and a new running mate for the elections.
Certainly, this is the time the NPP needs the organizational and election-winning experience of John Boadu who has supervised two successful elections .
At his campaign launch, John Boadu said the fact that the NDC is preparing to line up their most experienced national officers (current and former) to prosecute their 2024 campaign, ‘it would be a very bad time for me to leave the Party and go into government’.
“As a Party, our history ought to be our guide, and we must learn the necessary lessons from same. In the year 2007, ahead of the 2008 General Elections, we made a disastrous mistake as a Party and virtually elected an entirely new set of National Executives, and of course, as it turned out, the Party recorded one of its worst electoral defeats. Certainly, ‘experience’ is not something that can be traded, and our Party cannot and should not sacrifice experience for anything”.
THE GHANAIAN PUBLISHER believes that ‘now more than ever, the Party needs the experience and the longest serving National Officer of NPP to guide and assist the new National Executives and the new Presidential Candidate and Running Mate to deliver the much needed victory for the party.
He is an experienced national figure,who has a better understanding of the workings of party and exactly the right person that NPP needs ahead of the 2024 election.
John Boadu’s Successes
When I promised to ensure that the party pays monthly subventions to all the 275 constituencies and 16 regions of the country, it was because I drew from the challenges I faced as a constituency secretary in Ablekuma with regard to financing the activities of the Party.
By the grace of God, I have fulfilled this promise, becoming the first General Secretary to fulfill Article 11 of the Party’s Constitution that directs that regional and constituency secretaries are paid monthly allowances. It is worth noting that, we are the first and only political party in Ghana to implement this.
Also, I promised to recognize the old party loyalists by regularly providing financial support to recommended elders in each constituency; a promise that has been fulfilled but needs to be reviewed which I’m committed to doing.
Again, John Boadu promised to set-up a unit at the party headquarters to liaise with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on existing job vacancies which qualified members could take advantage of, a promise that has been delivered. The unit has been set up and continues to work.
John promised to revive the “adopt polling station, constituency” concept, and we have done it. We promised to assist young entrepreneurs in the party, and we have done it and continue to do it.
Furthermore, John had promised to facilitate the procurement of vehicles for each constituency; each region and some identifiable structures of the Party. We have done that as well.
Again, John promised to set up an ideological school and we have done it. A Governing Council is in place which is chaired by Rt. Hon Prof Mike Aeron Ocquaye. The School infrastructure is in place. Lesson content has been developed, awaiting official inauguration after these internal elections.
John had promised to urge the National Council to set up conflict resolution committees at all party levels to quickly resolve local and regional conflicts. We have done it.
At the said campaign launch ,John Boadu also took a veiled jab at his opponents negative campaign over loss of some parliamentary seats .”I am honest enough to take responsibility for the parliamentary seats lost in 2020 election. However, it would be a great disservice to sound political analysis to perceive those losses as a reflection of the incompetence of the General Secretary, as some have said, especially those seeking to contest for this position.
‘They have gone ahead to make some weird claims including claims that I, the General Secretary, should be blamed because I had imposed Parliamentary Candidates on the party. I would encourage them to take their time and read the NPP Constitution very well. Certainly, persons who do not appreciate the provisions of the Party Constitution and how this party is run, ought to have no business seeking to lead the Party, else, they might all be led into an abyss’, he noted.
‘I am gracious enough to give them some education and guidance. They should take their time and read at least Article 12 on Selection of Parliamentary Candidates. No single individual in this party, not even the President, can decide who to represent the Party as a Parliamentary Candidate. That responsibility is solely within the remit of the National Executive Committee of the Party. They should also read the composition of the National Executive Committee of the Party under Article 10 (4), and they would realize that a General Secretary, is really a minute fraction of this committee, and cannot have his way if the committee thinks otherwise’, he pointed out.
Again, the point must be made that the Party won the parliamentary seats in constituencies where the Party, acting through the National Executive Committee, managed to build consensus to allow some Candidates to go unopposed having regard to the special circumstances of these constituencies. The Party rather lost in constituencies where there was no consensus and the party had to allow competitive primaries. Mention can be made of constituencies like Akwatia, Navrongo, Krowor, Tema East, Okaikoi North, La Dadekotopon, Wulensi, Adenta, and many others. We probably would have lost constituencies like Tarkwa, Gushegu and many others if we had allowed competitive primaries.
That said, anyone who cannot read the nuances of political results and break down the complex pattern of the NPP’s pattern of parliamentary performance does not deserve the high office of General Secretary.
For instance, we reached very, very dizzy heights in 2016 when we won 169 seats out of 276 seats, representing 61.4% of all seats in parliament; a feat that is the highest we have ever achieved as a party and in parliamentary history of Ghana. This feat of snatching 55 seats from the then ruling party was as unthinkable as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and moved us deep into enemy territory.
But the point must be made that with the 55 seats we snatched from the NDC in 2016, most of them were the outcome of ‘skirt and blouse’ voting in the NDC which was brought about as a result of their acrimonious parliamentary primaries and disunity culminating in many incidences of Independent Parliamentary Candidates from their stock. However, in 2020, we didn’t see much of that from the NDC, and so, we could not benefit as we did in 2016.
If NPP wants a chance to break the 8 in 2024,John Boadu is now more than ever –their best chance of leading that project and this paper urges them to vote for him.
By Yaw Obeng Manu
