ASPIRANTS MUST RALLY BEHIND NDUOM — POKU (PAGE 15)

AN elder of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Riley Poku, has challenged the former aspiring flag bearers of the party to learn from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) by throwing their full weight behind Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, the CPP presidential aspirant in the political campaign.
He said even though Dr Nduom and the CPP were doing well in the electioneering the party’s chances would be even brighter if all the aspirants came on board.
The former Minister of Defence in the Third Republic told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Kumasi on Monday that it was refreshing to see all the former aspiring NPP flag bearers supporting Nana Akufo-Addo wherever he was campaigning.
“As a traditional party, this is what we in the CPP must do rather than the petty bickering, which would not take us anywhere,” he said.
The former minister said he understood those who were raising issues with the flag bearer but said what they said and their actions must be in the interest of the party.
“If this is not done, the efforts to push our flag bearer would not yield results,” he said.
He pointed out that the CPP could not afford to remain at the rear of politics in the country because it was the only party the people needed to speed up the nation’s development agenda.
Mr Poku, who is a lawyer, was happy that in spite of the so-called Serious Fraud Office (SFO) report on Dr Nduom, the party was not performing badly in the electioneering.
“I think the report would not have any adverse effects on the fortunes of the party in the December polls,” he said.
Mr Poku said it was important for the party to spread its “winning message,” which was the most important thing in the run-up to the elections.
Mr Poku said, “I think the CPP is doing well in the campaign and if this continues, this election would be very interesting”.
The Defence Minister in the Limann administration said he was not happy with the attention being given to the SFO report when the real work was on the ground.
While praising the leadership of the party for inroads, the party was making with the electioneering Mr Poku conceded that the fight to go past the NPP and the NDC would not be easy.
“Pitching our strength against the two parties would be an uphill task and we need to work hard to meet the demands,” he said.
On the performance of the NPP government, Mr Poku noted that it would not be fair to say that the government had performed poorly, citing the improvement in the macro- economic environment as an example.
However, he said, a CPP government had the potential to perform better, looking at the party’s ideology.