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Member of Parliament (MP) for Okere and former General Secretary of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dan Botwe, has opined that, though the party does not restrict its members from openly sharing their views, the recent remark by Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku calling for the sidelining of the NPP�s 2012 flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 was �unfortunate�. According to him, the party has over the years encouraged its members to air their opinions for the betterment of the elephant fraternity, but that should be done with circumspection. �The party (NPP) always encourages its members to share their views concerning the party; we don�t restrict them (party members) from that...We always encourage them to share their views but the way and manner to say it matters. If you have issues concerning the party, you are free to see the party leadership for discussions because the party does not belong to one person,� he said. An aspiring NPP Presidential hopeful, Dr. Konadu Apraku has come under heavy criticisms this week after suggesting the need to replace the party�s 2012 flagbearer. Speaking at the inauguration of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) branch of Tertiary Education Students Confederacy of the NPP Alumni (TESCONA), an NPP group made of past graduates of tertiary schools, he said, �We will all win these elections if we select the best person to lead the party or our various offices; that is where we win, nobody wins unless the right decisions have been made and the best persons elected.� �And in an election for our Presidential candidate let me say we should select the best possible person for our party; the person who will embody the aspirations, the values of the rest of the population; the person that Ghanaians can see through and say I want my son to be this person,� he added. Dr. Apraku startled the party faithfuls, when at the tail-end of his speech, he cast aspersions on the 2008 and 2012 flagbearer. He found it difficult to fathom why the NPP, with all its brains and political ammunition, could not succeed in two presidential elections and so, took a swipe at the leadership of the party. He further asserted that, after two successive defeats by the ruling National Democratic Congress, there is no doubt that the NPP should opt for a change of leadership, particularly the party's flagbearer. But speaking on Asempa FM, Hon Dan Botwe counseled Dr. Apraku to keep to his chest his campaign strategies ahead of the NPP presidential primaries to save his name from being embroiled furor.