The General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, may not vacate his office at the party’s headquarters as some party activists wish as information reaching The aL-hAJJ indicates that the National Executive Committee is expected to nullify the Disciplinary Committee’s recommendation for his suspension.
A very dependable source told this paper that, following the public outrage National Chairman Paul Afoko’s suspension has generated, and threats by some influential groups in the party’s stronghold of Ashanti region to cause mayhem in the event Kwabena Agyapong is suspended, “the NEC has decided to quash the recommendation by the DC just as the NDC recently did in the case of Sam George and Nii Amasah Namoale”
The source intimated “to tell you the truth, the troubles in the party exacerbated after Afoko’s suspension and we are now a party being mocked by Ghanaians. As a result of these things the NEC has decided that there will be no more suspensions, at least for now.”
The aL-hAJJ has also gathered that some NPP bigwigs fear a reenactment of the 1979 episode which saw Victor Owusu losing that year’s election to the late Dr Hilla Liman of PNP following the breakaway by Paa Willie’s group to form the UNC.
Their present fear, according a source, stems from the number of groups that have openly come out, threatening to ditch the party if the General Secretary is suspend.
Media reports indicate that the DC of the NPP has recommended a 15 months suspension for embattled General Secretary Kwabena Agyepong, and an indefinite suspension for its second vice chairman, Sammy Crabbe.
The NEC is expected to meet today to take a decision on whether to affirm the decision of the DC. However, even before today’s NEC meeting, some groups like the Ashanti Youth Association, Young Executives Forum of NPP, Ashanti Market Women Association and other pro-NPP groups have warned the party to back off the decision to suspend Kwabena Agyapong or risk disintegrating the party ahead of the 2016 elections.
This paper has also gathered that some well-known kingpins of the NPP from the Ashanti region have also sound a note of caution to the Nana Akufo-Addo controlling NEC to tread cautiously or risk dividing the party if Kwabena Agyapong is handed the 15 months suspension as the DC has recommended.
In a preemptive move and to find a safe route in announcing the planned NEC decision not to affirm the DC’s recommendation, Director of Communications of the NPP, Nana Akomea, yesterday denied reports that the DC has made recommendations for Kwabena Agyapong’s suspension.
According to him the party’s DC is yet to make any recommendation on the petition calling for the General Secretary’s suspension.
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