The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Paul Awentami Afoko, has been suspended from the position indefinitely.
The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) yesterday at the Asylum Down national headquarters.
A statement issued by the party and signed by its Communications Director, Nana Akomea, claimed that “At its meeting today, Friday, 23 October, 2015, the National Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the recommendation of the National Disciplinary Committee.”
It followed a petition by the Council of Elders of the NPP to the Committee amidst allegations of misconduct and other charges including breaches of the party’s constitution.
Mr Afoko was also accused of trading internal party affairs in the media, contrary to laid down procedures of the NPP.
Procedure
NEC therefore asked the Disciplinary Committee to conduct a thorough investigation into the constitutional breaches and to give appropriate recommendations to promote discipline, peace, order, harmony and progress in the party towards election 2016; and if possible, suspend Mr Afoko from office until after the 2016 elections.
But after several attempts by the Committee to get Mr Afoko to appear before it had failed, the Disciplinary Committee submitted its report to the Executive Committee on October 21, 2015 recommending the suspension of the man from the party indefinitely.
Per the provisions of the NPP Constitution, Mr Afoko has 14 days to appeal against the decision if he so wishes.
Yesterday’s NEC meeting was therefore said to be a one-item event.
Not a single member of the meeting was said to have dissented the decision, therefore making it unanimous.
Per the provisions of the NPP’s Constitution, the party’s First Vice Chairman, Freddie Blay, has been asked to act in Afoko’s stead as National Chairman.
Even though the meeting was preceded by an attempt by a group calling itself ‘Bolgatanga Bulldogs’ to prevent NEC from sitting, its action was foiled by the ‘Invincible Forces’ – the party’s official security detail stationed at the headquarters.
Facts
Information has it that on all four occasions that the Committee sat over the issue, Mr Afoko failed to show up, even though he was asked to appear before it with his counsel if he so desired.
Members of the Committee at one of its meetings therefore gave Mr Afoko an October 21, 2015 deadline to appear before it to answer certain questions or they would determine his fate by sending their recommendations to the National Council of the party for action.
On all occasions that he had been invited, he was said to have given one excuse after the other as to why he could not show up and had often sent someone to represent him.
Excuses
On the first day of the hearing – 16th September, 2015 – the Committee reportedly took the evidence of the complainants (Council of Elders) down to be made available to Mr Afoko at the next sitting so he could interrogate his accusers.
But when it met again on 22nd September, 2015 expecting the NPP Chairman to be in attendance, he did not turn up.
Instead, he was said to have sent a letter dated 16th September, 2015 saying: “I lost my father and I am in the middle of finalising the necessary customary final funeral rites for him. This may take me to the end of September 2015.”
The Committee was therefore said to have responded by expressing its condolences and adjourned sitting to 6th October, 2015.
But when the day came, he again did not show up.
He was said to have sent two lawyers, Martin Kpebu and Dr Peter Atupare, to represent him.
Afoko’s lawyers were then said to have asked for a date to come along with their client, with Dr Atupare specifically asking for the sitting to be on Monday, 12th October, 2015 after consulting his diary and his colleague. The Committee duly agreed and adjourned sitting.
Again when the day came, Mr Afoko failed to honour the invitation.
He reportedly sent one of his lawyers, Kpebu, to present a medical report signed on 11th October, 2015 by one Dr A.A. Afoko, said to be an urologist at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, with diagnosis of cervical spondylosis, leading to the postponement of the meeting to October 21, 2015
It later emerged that Mr Afoko, who failed to appear before the Committee, was chairing a Steering Committee meeting at the Airport West Hotel.
This was what was said to have informed the Committee’s decision to issue a caveat for the NPP National Chairman to either show up or have his fate determined on October 21, 2015, which came to pass.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu