NPP Should Not Aspire To Be Like Asiedu Nketia - Kwabena Agyapong

An aspiring General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party Kwabena Agyapong says the opposition party must be seen to be distinct not only in ideologies but even in terms of the personnel that ran the party and government. In a subtle reply to his own party chairman, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, the former press secretary to ex-President John Kufuor said the NPP should not in any way aspire to be like the General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress, Johnson Asiedu Nketia. Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey had, in an interview applauded the contribution of Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, General Secretary of the NPP and said he was the perfect antidote to the NDC's Asiedu Nketia who is seen as very abrasive in his response to political issues. Answering a question Thursday, on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana programme why he wanted to unseat his own brother from the Ashanti Region and become the new General Secretary of the NPP, Kwabena Agyapong said the incumbent has done his part but the time is up for him to take a back seat. He said references to Owusu Afriyie as the antidote to the NDC's General Mosquito, as the NDC scribe is affectionately called, are misplaced because the NPP is completely different and must be seen to be different from the NDC and its personnel. Citing the controversial Victoria Hamah leaked tape saga, Kwabena Agyapong said no politician should go into political office with the view to amass wealth of a million dollars. Every politician, he noted, must be passionate and have the love of the country flowing through his veins and must be ready to serve the country selflessly. "I am passionate about Ghana," he emphasised, and called on the party's delegates to give him the opportunity to serve. He said he brings to the General Secretary position a wealth of experience in communication, having served for six years as press secretary to the president; a background in election monitoring, all of which are key components needed for the party to win back power from the NDC. He would not comment on who the party should elect as the flagbearer, saying, the party's delegates are competent enough to know which of the candidates is better placed to bring victory to the party. Host of the show Paul Adom Otchere contributed 50 Ghana cedis as his financial contribution to the campaign of Kwabena Agyapong.