Some traditional leaders from Ga communities within the Greater accra region have hailed the decision of the national executive Committee (NEC) of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to allow winnable candidates from Ga communities along the coastal belt to contest NPP parliamentary seats.
The leaders, about five in number, paid a visit to Western Publication, publishers of DAILY GUIDE, on Monday in Accra where they held a brief meeting with the party’s 1st Vice Chairman, Hon Freedie Blay, and thanked the NPP for taking the bold decision to encourage indigenes of Ga communities to participate actively in the affairs of the NPP.
Leader of the delegation, Nii Kwaku Botwe IV, was optimistic that the decision would go a long way to help both the NPP and the Ga communities by granting indigenes from those areas the opportunity to fully participate in the activities of the party, urging other political parties to emulate the decision of the NPP.
Even though not all members of the party, particularly those who are not indigenes of Ga communities, are satisfied with the decision, Nii Kwaku Botwe IV insisted that the decision was in the right direction and that all party supporters must rally behind the party over the decision.
In the past, according to the leader of the delegation, political parties were not too forthcoming in allowing or making it easier for Ga communities, which admittedly have been outnumbered by immigrants, to come to the stage NPP has decided to lead them.
In his opinion, political parties must see it necessary to select candidates from communities in which they (candidates) originate to contest for political positions within those areas so as to allow for the right candidates who can better understand the problems of those communities to be elected.
He pledged on behalf of members of his delegation, which included Elder Nii Allotey of the Ingleshie Amanfrom Stool, Okyeame Ahene, Lamgba, among others, to urge members of Ga communities within the NPP to reciprocate and make use of the gesture.
He also indicated that they would find time to visit other officials of the NPP to express their heartfelt gratitude.
Hon Freddie Blay, on his part, expressed his profound appreciation and thanked the traditional rulers for hailing the party’s decision as a noble one.
“I would have been happier if you had met a cross-section of the party,” he told his guests.
According to him, the party was not just creating a quota for the people but encouraging members of the communities to as much as possible try to fill the winnable seats within their areas.
He said the decision was not aimed at discriminating against any candidate or section within the party but rather to encourage members along the coast to participate in the affairs of the party.
He also pledged to pay a courtesy call on the chiefs in due time.
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