The General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has described the early race to become flagbearer of the party for the 2024 election as completely unproductive, backward and distractive.
According to the General Secretary, the party won the last elections not long ago, following which the President is still in the process of forming his government for the second term, as such the focus must be to deliver the 2020 campaign promises.
John Boadu has since warned that the party leadership would not sit aloof for such distraction to linger, when the success of the 2024 polls would be dependent on the performance of the current government.
The General Secretary was reacting to concerns of the party’s rank and file during the National Executives’ engagement sessions with party grassroots, which took them to the Savanna regional capital, Damongo, last week.
John Boadu said among others that: “The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is scheduled to meet very soon to deliberate on developments regarding the 2024 flagbearership contest and would most definitely take a strong position on the matter in order to ensure that every member of the party, regardless of their status, is called to order. The party is much bigger than the individual ambitions of its leading members.”
He announced that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the NPP would soon meet to take a strong position on the development.
The grassroots of the party had expressed their disaffection and revulsion at the conduct of some leading members of the party with presidential ambitions, who are said to be engaged in some covert maneuverings towards bringing their aspirations into fruition.
They are particularly averse to the actions of some overzealous supporters of these flagbearer hopefuls who are engaged in smear campaigns and mudslinging, especially on social media platforms, against one another.
Accordingly, the grassroots urged the leadership of the party to take immediate steps to arrest the situation before it gets out of hand.
Per the party’s constitution, the contest is two years away, making it “early for anybody having ambition to contest in the 2024 flagbearership race to make public such ambitions, because time is just not rife,” John Boadu said.
He stressed that: “We just won the 2020 elections and the President is still in the process of forming his government with the appointment of Ministers, Deputies, CEOs and governing Boards of the various state institutions, for us to start implementing our campaign promises.
Our victory in 2024 will, by all means, be dependent on how this yet to be constituted second-term Akufo-Addo led government performs.
“So, why are we rushing to look for a successor for the President when he hasn’t even finished forming his government? We, as leaders of the party won’t allow such backwardness and distractions”, John Boadu emphasised, receiving applause from his audience.
