Senior Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Dr. Kwasi Amakye-Boateng has backed former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Awentami Paul Afoko, in the party’s chairmanship race, arguing that the party needs a leader capable of bringing back disgruntled and former members.
Speaking on Kumasi-based Akoma FM, Dr Amakye-Boateng assessed the four candidates contesting the National Chairmanship position and holds the conviction that Mr Awentami Paul Afoko will serve the good of the elephant family.
He said, in his assessment, the candidates did not have the same capacity to reach out to all aggrieved and breakaway members and bring them back into the party.
Dr Amakye-Boateng said the NPP’s rebuilding must go beyond changing individuals and should involve reconciliation, organisational restructuring, and institutional renewal.
He pointed to Afoko’s experience and background as reasons for his preference, saying those qualities could help the former chairman contribute to a new identity for the party.
“If the NPP can be formidable, recontouring, and institutional renewal, then the best person to lead the party is Paul Afoko,” he said.
He also said the position of National Chairman requires more than the conventional responsibilities associated with the office.
According to him, the person occupying the position must have credibility, reliability, and experience that can strengthen confidence in the party.
“The character of that person should be credible, reliable, and someone whose experience can give credibility to the party,” he said.
Dr Amakye-Boateng said Afoko’s previous experience within the NPP, coupled with his political background, made him, in his view, suitable to spearhead what he described as a new NPP identity.
Four candidates intensify their campaigns ahead of the party’s October 3 national executive elections.
The candidates have already been assigned ballot positions: John Boadu first, Sammy Crabbe second, Awentami Paul Afoko third, and Boakye Agyarko fourth.
Dr Amakye-Boateng has previously argued that Afoko’s return to active politics could provide an opportunity for reconciliation within the NPP.
In July, he said Afoko’s willingness to move beyond past disagreements and return to serve the party could help bring back members who had become disaffected or withdrawn.
