The good old Holy Bible says money is
the roots of all evil. In a fight to selfishly take clinical hold of money and
possess power within organizations or societies have been very destructive and
left body counts all over. Money brings great fortunes and powerful friends. It
makes even a worse person becomes holy and talked-about.
This fight for money and the desire to
take control of an establishment is what is currently plaguing the opposition
New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The fight to control the financial kitty
and call shots within NPP is what has caused the internecine conflict in NPP
since its Tamale Congress that saw Mr Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyapong clinching
the position of Chairman and General-Secretary respectively.
GH₵
7 MILLION VANISHED INTO THIN AIR?
Currently, it is said that over GH₵ 7
million cash which belongs to the NPP is nowhere to be found. However,
investigations has found out that the money, which was proceeds from
nominations and filing fees of the recently held NPP`s 2015 parliamentary
primaries, is lodged at Ecobank, with only the party`s Treasurer, Abankwa Yeboah
and the First Vice Chairman, Freddy Blay as the only signatories.
An unimpeachable source at the financial
committee of the NPP, maintains that these two party officers, who thump-chest
as unalloyed Nana Akufo-Addo loyalists have unilaterally operated the Ecobank
accounts on the blind side of the party.
Abankwa Yeboah, who hates the guts of
the resilient duo, Afoko and Agyapong, refused to deposit the GH₵ 7 million cash into the recognised party
account and has always blushed aside any queries to the where-about of the
party`s money.
At the last NEC meeting, both Abankwaa
and Blay refused to attend to answer questions on the money and how it is being
utilized for party operations. Details of the accounts, how much has been
withdrawn and the purposes of the withdrawals shall be brought to the attention
of the party very soon.
HOW
IT STARTED
It is a public knowledge that Afoko and
Agyapong run a vigorous campaign on their own merit against massive opposition
and attacks from the die-hard supporters of party`s flag-bearer, Nana Addo.
The two were tagged as seriously
anti-Nana with a grand agenda to ensure that Nana never attains the political
Holy Grail in Ghana. This propaganda was brewed from diabolical elements from
Nana`s camp to create enmity and serious loss at the Tamale Congress. But
unfortunately, for the heavyweight party detractors and their
supporters/underlings, the duo convincingly thrashed their opponents to sit in
the positions they occupied today.
One of the major reasons the two won
their positions was their campaign message to the delegates to ensure proper
administration of the party cash to avoid external manipulations, diversions
and misapplications.
This is because the party`s financial
administration during the tenure of the last executives came under monstrous
accusations of impropriety, high-jacking and starving of the headquarters funds
for its day-to-day activities.
This situation was caused by the
creation of the party`s campaign team which was headquartered at Danquah
Institute (DI). Every party activities and money went into the DI campaign
office where selected members of the Campaign Team apply and distributed funds
for electioneering and campaign activities.
NPP`s, Asylum Down party headquarters
became a white elephant, as party executives gallivants between DI and Asylum
down to eke money out of the Campaign team for the headquarters.
This dichotomy of DI and Asylum Down,
supported by Jake Okanta Obetsebi-Lamptey led Executives caused serious
disquietude and general aversion for Jake and his team. Many party supporters
saw it as serious weakness on Jake and his team for allowing DI to boss around
the legitimate party headquarters and its personnel around like zombies.
It was against this background that made
Afoko and Agyapong very popular prior to the Tamale Congress. The popular
feeling was that, the headquarters must take its proper role in the campaign,
as the nerve center and not an appendage to the creation of the flag-bearer`s
private campaign office.
Afoko and Agyapong, on the quiet
campaigned on the twin-theme of back to headquarters campaign team (centralized
campaign from Headquarters) and clinical and effective administration of the
party`s funds. This message caught up with many delegates, including many
pro-Nana Addo loyalists and successfully quelled the morbid propaganda against
the duo.
The message made an avalanche of Nana
loyalist/delegates casted their votes for Afoko and Agyapong, because they
wanted headquarters (the elected party executives) to run their Campaign and
not private party entity, DI. They also
saw Afoko and Agyapong as strong characters that can stand against certain
personalities around Nana Addo who would not allow the 2012 DI campaign to
transmogrify at all, compared to Jake and his team members like reactionary
paper-tiger and master of misguided statements, Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie aka Sir
John as well as some new entrants they cannot trust. They gladly voted
overwhelmingly for the duo.
THE
REASON FOR OPENING FRESH ECOBANK ACCOUNT
For the grandmasters and opportunists
around Nana Addo who have successfully assisted him to lose two national
elections, the entry of Agyapong and Afoko was a massive blow. Their major fear
was how the duo had sounded the siren that they will ensure centralization of
campaign with the headquarters as the base and strict application of party
funds. That decision, if they allow Afoko and Agyapong to implement would spell
doom for their very powerful roles, influence, loyalty and existence in the
party.
For without Nima/DI private campaign
office of the flag-bearer where will their influence and visibility in NPP be?
So the need to fight against Afoko and Agyapong to maintain the status quo or
incur their wrath started immediately after they were declared winners at
Tamale.
Sir John, after blissfully losing his
position to Kwabena Agyapong quickly warmed his way into the hearts of the
pro-Nana Addo inner circle to be part of the grand agenda to make Afoko and
Agyapong and anybody in the executives that support and their tenure, very
miserable and problematic.
Series of impatient and bad decisions
like sacking of headquarters securities, relieve of the positions of Reverend
Opare-Hammond and Perry Okudzeto as well as poor human relations side of the
duo, gave smoking guns to their internal opponents to start their inglorious
campaign of image assassination, destruction and ultimately impeachment or
votes of no confidence.
When Chairman Mahama Adams of Upper East
was murdered in an acid attack and an attempt to effectively utilize it to remove
Agyapong and Afoko lost its vigor, a grand design was couched to exclude the
duo from any financial transaction of the party. This is to ensure that the duo
are made useless in their position as loyalists will continue to call the shots
for the party, even if they are crooks, buffoons or damn incompetent.
To achieve their aims, the pro-Nana
loyalists advised Abankwaa Yeboah to open the new Ecobank account, without
informing either Afoko, Agyapong or Sammy Crabbe.
This money in this account is being used
for party activities unknown to the Chairman and his General Secretary and some
members of the NEC. This is an affront to NPP`s own constitution.
It is a shame that the very people who
claim to be Nana`s loyalists and gallivant around accusing Agyapong and Afoko
of not being team players and doing things without involving all the party
folks, are now engaged in such a serious clandestine divisive posture and
taking unilateral decisions without the some members of the NEC.
So clearly, NPP doesn’t have any
friction, the friction are created by selfish individuals using uninformed
youths and party folks and their own media houses to constantly attack the duo
to make them become a pariah in NPP.
The reason is simple: money, power and
assured future positions in Nana`s government or when the party loses, ensure their
re-elections. For now this loyalists have won, but in politics, no condition is
permanent.
Time will expose some of these so-called
loyalists using the flag-bearer`s name and personal proximity to execute their
own agenda. Some have started disgracing themselves already as money taken out
for certain activities never reached the beneficiaries. It has been swept under
the carpet, but like pregnancy it will surely come out for all to see!
