11 January 2006
CPP Front Liners At War
Similar to the war of attrition within the troubled National Democratic Congress (NDC), the front-liners within the disgruntled Convention People’s Party (CPP) are also up in arms against each other over the running of the former ruling party.
Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the party’s Member of Parliament for Komenda Edina, Eguafo, Abirim (KEEA) Constituency in the Central Region, is the first to put on his gloves. He has in an interview lambasted the Dr. Delle Administration of the CPP for pursuing “selfish individual interests” that have pushed the very survival of the CPP to the edge.
Dr Nduom is of the view that so long as the Dr. Delle administration continued to head the CPP, the party’s chances of survival can not be guaranteed. He has therefore called on the leadership of the party to “resign” to make way for a more competent crop of people to take over the running of the CPP, since the “party cannot wait till 2008” to change its leadership. He said the situation within the CPP has put the seats of CPP MP’s in “danger” and that there was the need to end the reigns of Dr Delle and his team of leaders.
Dr Nduom’s call comes few days after the CPP held a press conference to mark its 56th anniversary celebration of the declaration of ‘Positive Action’ by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, during which the party claimed it has identified “dissidents” within its rank and file, and vowed to “smoke them out.”
But, the Publicity Director of the CPP, Mr Kwesi Pratt Junior, has returned fire, chastising Dr Nduom for what he described as absolute “dishonesty and arrogance” on the part of the MP for KEEA Constituency.
Accusing Dr Nduom of attempting to “subvert” the CPP, Mr Pratt said in an interview that “the arrogance of people like Dr Nduom” was what was ripping the party apart.
“In the last elections, some of the difficulties were suffered arose as a result of the same recklessness and arrogance of Dr Nduom and the party would no longer tolerate that”, Mr Pratt said. Mr Pratt described as “commendable” efforts by a group calling it self The Patriot to revive the CPP, insisting that the leadership of the CPP would not allow the likes of Dr Nduom to rip the party apart with “their arrogance and recklessness”.
Renewed troubled within the dormant CPP have been sparked by a recent call by Mike Eghan, a leading member of the CPP that the leadership of the party resigned for championing individual interests that have pulled the party’s unity talks with the People’s National Convention (PNC) apart. Media reports have it that Dr Nduom is among a group of CPP dissidents with the ambition of forming a new political party by first of all ripping the CPP apart.
Reports say he in talks with seasoned politicians like Dr Kwesi Botwey of the NDC and Dr Obed Asamoah, formerly of the NDC with the view to forming a new political party. But, in an interview, Dr Nduom denied the charge. He insisted that his public criticism of the leadership of the CPP was what has brought the leadership of the CPP to his throat. He said his priority for now remains to work effectively as the Member of Parliament for KEEA and as a Minister responsible for Public Sector Reforms. He however said he would not rule out the options of either retiring from politics, or resigning from the CPP or joining a different party altogether, should the leadership of the CPP fail to heed to his call that they resign.
Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the party’s Member of Parliament for Komenda Edina, Eguafo, Abirim (KEEA) Constituency in the Central Region, is the first to put on his gloves. He has in an interview lambasted the Dr. Delle Administration of the CPP for pursuing “selfish individual interests” that have pushed the very survival of the CPP to the edge.
Dr Nduom is of the view that so long as the Dr. Delle administration continued to head the CPP, the party’s chances of survival can not be guaranteed. He has therefore called on the leadership of the party to “resign” to make way for a more competent crop of people to take over the running of the CPP, since the “party cannot wait till 2008” to change its leadership. He said the situation within the CPP has put the seats of CPP MP’s in “danger” and that there was the need to end the reigns of Dr Delle and his team of leaders.
Dr Nduom’s call comes few days after the CPP held a press conference to mark its 56th anniversary celebration of the declaration of ‘Positive Action’ by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, during which the party claimed it has identified “dissidents” within its rank and file, and vowed to “smoke them out.”
But, the Publicity Director of the CPP, Mr Kwesi Pratt Junior, has returned fire, chastising Dr Nduom for what he described as absolute “dishonesty and arrogance” on the part of the MP for KEEA Constituency.
Accusing Dr Nduom of attempting to “subvert” the CPP, Mr Pratt said in an interview that “the arrogance of people like Dr Nduom” was what was ripping the party apart.
“In the last elections, some of the difficulties were suffered arose as a result of the same recklessness and arrogance of Dr Nduom and the party would no longer tolerate that”, Mr Pratt said. Mr Pratt described as “commendable” efforts by a group calling it self The Patriot to revive the CPP, insisting that the leadership of the CPP would not allow the likes of Dr Nduom to rip the party apart with “their arrogance and recklessness”.
Renewed troubled within the dormant CPP have been sparked by a recent call by Mike Eghan, a leading member of the CPP that the leadership of the party resigned for championing individual interests that have pulled the party’s unity talks with the People’s National Convention (PNC) apart. Media reports have it that Dr Nduom is among a group of CPP dissidents with the ambition of forming a new political party by first of all ripping the CPP apart.
Reports say he in talks with seasoned politicians like Dr Kwesi Botwey of the NDC and Dr Obed Asamoah, formerly of the NDC with the view to forming a new political party. But, in an interview, Dr Nduom denied the charge. He insisted that his public criticism of the leadership of the CPP was what has brought the leadership of the CPP to his throat. He said his priority for now remains to work effectively as the Member of Parliament for KEEA and as a Minister responsible for Public Sector Reforms. He however said he would not rule out the options of either retiring from politics, or resigning from the CPP or joining a different party altogether, should the leadership of the CPP fail to heed to his call that they resign.
