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After earlier turning down an invitation to appear before the New Patriotic Party’ Disciplinary Committee (DC) for apparently not being ‘properly’ served, beleaguered National Chairman, Paul Afoko, once again refused to show up at the committee’s sitting last Tuesday to respond to charges brought against him by the party’s Council of Elders.

A source close to the disciplinary committee told this paper that, while members of the Reverend Samuel Asante-Antwi chaired DC were in high spirit waiting to nail the tormented National Chairman, they were left crestfallen when it was lawyers for Paul Afoko who rather appeared before the committee, announcing that their client will not appear because the committee lacked jurisdiction.

The business mogul’s lawyers, The aL-hAJJ gathered, challenged the capacity of the DC to question Paul Afoko over charges leveled against him by another committee of the NPP, the Council of Elders.

Party insiders told this paper that “Mr Afoko’s lawyers represented him at the DC’s sitting on Tuesday and told them point blank that they (DC) does not have the capacity to question Mr Afoko…and this left all of them (members of the DC) murmuring among themselves.”

With disappointment written all over their faces, the Nana Akufo-Addo controlled members of the Reverend Samuel Asante-Antwi chaired DC were said to have been so much disappointed they were unable to go for the “kill” as they had intended.

Aside the Council of Elders’ petition to the DC, The aL-hAJJ source revealed that, two senior members of the NPP from the north had also petitioned the DC, leveling serious allegations against Paul Afoko. “What happened was that, in anticipation of Afoko raising the issue of capacity, his accusers managed to get two senior members of the party, who are Northerners, to present separate petitions to the DC…so in case the Council of Elders’ petition fails, they will rely on the new petition.”

The ‘fresh’ petitions were said to have been filed by an NPP elder based in Bawku, Alhaji Sule Yerimiah, and a senior member of the party and prominent businessman from Tamale but based in Accra, Alhaji Aminu Amadu.

Mr Afoko, this paper has gathered, was ‘mad’ when his lawyers served him with the new petitions, describing it as frivolous and calculated attempt by his internal adversaries to prematurely end his tenure as National Chairman. He is reported to have vowed to fight “the crude tactics being employed by his detractors till the last drop of his blood”.
Prior to the DC’s sitting on Tuesday, General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabenaa Agyapong, who is also been hounded from the party, was said to have written to the committee and council of elders, reminding them of their powers which does not include “what they planned to do to Afoko,” a source intimated.

The NPP General Secretary in his letter reminded the disciplinary committee that, Afoko, being the highest officer of the party, and the council of elders being the last resort in conflict resolution; the committee cannot invoke its own jurisdiction as far as the matter was concern.

The National Council of Elders of the NPP in a 7-page letter to the party’s Disciplinary Committee, ordered that steps be taken to suspend Mr. Paul Afoko from his office until at least after the 2016 General Elections.

A letter dated September 7, 2015 signed by the Chairman of the party’s Council of Elders, C.K. Tedam, and addressed to the Disciplinary Committee among other things, demanded that at least, Chairman Afoko should be suspended from his office until after the 2016 elections.

Some of the charges leveled on Afoko include constitutional breaches, trading internal party affairs in the media contrary to laid-down procedures and authorizing the police to probe the party on allegation of corruption in the party.

This has been widely condemned by some members of the NPP, including a National Vice Chairman and former Ashanti regional Chairman, F F Anto; Dr Nyaho Tamakloe and Dr Arthur Kennedy, among others.

According to Dr Nyaho Tamakloe, suspension of the National Chairman or General Secretary will spell doom for the NPP, going into the 2016 election.

Meanwhile, this paper has gathered that security coordinator of Nana Akufo-Addo, Captain Koda (retired) has been caught on tape rubbishing Dr Nyaho Tamakloe’s claim that Afoko’s suspension could affect the party’s chances up North.

On the tape, the voice, alleged to be that of Captain Koda, was heard shouting “who is Afoko? Afoko is nobody…nothing will happen if he is sacked. We have equally strong Northerners in the party that can help us win votes in the three Northern regions. We have Bawumia, C K Tedam, Nasara Coordinator, Bugri Naabu, and Chairman Short …”

A deep throat source disclosed to this paper that when some senior members of the NPP approached Nana Akufo-Addo to call the Council of Elders to order, he was said to have retorted “I don’t know anything about their petition. They are elders of the party and they say they want Paul out.., they are doing their work like any other member of the party.”