NPP was in Afoko’s pocket; leading us into disaster – C.K. Tedam –

Chairman of the New Patriotic Party Council of Elders, C.K. Tedam has mounted a strong defence of the National Executive Committee’s decision to suspend Paul Afoko as chairman.

Mr. Afoko was suspended Friday following a petition by two party members against his conduct as chairman. Mr. Afoko has vowed to remain in office despite the resolution by the third most powerful body in the opposition party.

However, speaking to Joy News, Mr. Tedam says Paul Afoko on several occasions showed gross disrespect to leaders in the party.
“Sometimes with Nana sitting there and myself as an elder sitting there…if he didn’t like anything that we are saying, he will get up and take the gavel and banged it. Finished! No meeting again, and then meeting closed,” he revealed.

Nothing could be done to convince him to resume talks with the party, Mr. Tedam said, “once he won’t come, he won’t come. The party was simply in his pocket. So anything he wanted done, will be done.”

The chairman of the party’s council of elders pointed out that keeping Afoko as the chairman would have been tantamount to accepting defeat ahead of the 2016 elections.

He discounted suspicion that Afoko’s suspension would spell doom for the party, insisting the action would rather bring “peace and harmony” to the party.

He was emphatic that staying on as the National Chairman, Afoko would have led “everyone into a disaster”.

He reiterated that Afoko was given ample time to amend how he ran the affairs of the party, but because he was “afraid of his own shadow” he refused to meet the party at the headquarters where he is ironically expected to operate from.

As the head of the party’s election committee, C.K. Tedam maintained that Paul Afoko was not voted into office because he was a northerner neither is his suspension anything to do with his origin.

However, he said, the party is open to finding him a role to play that would help secure NPP victory in the next elections, provided he is ready to work with the party.

First Vice Chairman of the NPP, Freddy Blay has been appointed to act as the National Chairman.