‘Kufuor comment could hurt NPP’

Ex-President J.A. Kufuor says he prefers life as a messenger in a victorious party to life as “say a proud general secretary who would lead us into defeat.” Pollster and Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, Ben Ephson Jnr., says a comment by ex-President J.A. Kufuor asking New Patriotic Party followers to unite in search of electoral victory could hurt the party rather. The former president has been meeting some of the party bigwigs and urging them to unite and be truthful to each other. He said unity will win back political power for the party and it should be their desire because he believes life as a messenger in a victorious party should be chosen over life as “say a proud general secretary who would lead us into defeat.” Some have interpreted his comment as an attack on the party’s General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow. Mr. Frank Agyekum, spokesperson for the ex-president however explains that the statement was no attack on Ohene Ntow and that it should be taken generally to mean that “whether you are a general secretary or you are a chairman or whatever in the party, as long the party is in opposition it is not good enough, the good thing for us to be is to in power and even if you are the messenger, you have the comfort you are in the party in power…” But Ben Ephson told Joy News that given the context, it is likely to hurt the party rather than help it. “I believe if you want to find reasons why the NPP lost you can categorise them into three: the role the ex-president played, ie his administration and the mistakes they made; the strategic mistakes Nana Akufu-Addo and his campaign team made; and the mistakes that the party, national executives made. So if maybe he wanted to use an example he could have said maybe he would have preferred to be an ex-president who did not lead his party into defeat but led his party into victory.” Ben Ephson said during the December 2008 election, there was a clear disconnect between the government and the party and many still hold Kufuor as being largely responsible for the party’s electoral defeat, just as in 2005 during the NPP’s congress to elect national executives, the battle cry for many was for a reclamation of the party (from Kufuor and friends). “There was a total disconnect between President Kufuor’s government and the NPP party.” Ben Ephosn said he will not expect Ohene Ntow to respond to the comment but believes the ex-president even though popular within and outside the party, should take a backstage role and rather get people in the party seen as more neutral (not pro-Kufuor or anti-Kufuor) to lead the unity efforts. Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana