SIR JOHN FOR NPP SEC-GEN POSITION (PAGE 14, JULY 1)

A New Patriotic Party (NPP) stalwart in Kumasi, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, popularly known as Sir John, has given indications the he will contest the position of General Secretary at the next national delegates conference of the party.
“All over the country, party people are urging me to go for the position, and I think I cannot disappoint them,” he told the Daily Graphic in Kumasi in.
Mr Owusu-Afriyie, a respected legal practitioner in Kumasi, was the campaign manager of the Nana Akufo-Addo campaign team for the northern sector of the country in the 2008 election.
He said he had served the party faithfully since his student days and believed the time had come for him to move up the party ladder.
“I’ve paid my dues and this is the time to serve at the highest level,” he said.
According to him, he had heard some names making the rounds as potential candidates for the position but said, “ I stand tall amongst them.”
Sir John indicated that the party had reached a stage where it needed strong leadership at the top to battle it out with the NDC in the 2012 elections.
“Everybody knows the NDC is messing up the economy, therefore, we as a party need a strong leadership to get the party to capitalise on this to win the next elections,” he said.
“I will ensure that we expose the lies of the NDC, so that they cannot deceive the people again,”
He stated that he had a firm grasp of the politics of the day and this would be applied for the advantage of the party.
Mr Owusu-Afriyie called for unity in the party so that together, they could fight to remove the NDC in the next elections.
“If we don’t stop branding people as belonging to this camp or another, we will be digging our own grave.
“I don’t believe there are factions in the party but rather shades of opinions, which is natural with a democratic institution like the NPP.”
On the proposed widening of the electoral college for the party’s congress to elect presidential candidate, the lawyer said it was a good idea, as it would correct the many lapses in the system.
Even though he said it was too early to be thinking of the presidential candidate for the party in the 2012 elections, Mr Owusu-Afriyie said he still believed Nana Akufo-Addo was the right man for the job.
He explained that Nana Akufo-Addo was the most popular and well-tested person who had got the ability to lead the party to victory in 2012.