DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday January 19, 2012, pg. 16. Campaign for Effective Leadership joins PPP

Story: Mary Ankrah & Dominic Moses Awiah

A NEWLY formed group, the Campaign for Effective Leadership, has announced its merger with Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom’s new Progressive People’s Party (PPP) to contest  the 2012 general election.

According to the Spokesperson for the group, Mr Sarfo Adams, it comprised seven functional regional and constituency executives of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) in the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Upper West, Northern, Eastern, Volta and Greater Accra regions.

At a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, he said the decision to join the PPP stemmed from the quest to build a formidable political party as a credible alternative to the National Democratic Congress  and the New Patriotic Party.

“We are looking for a leader who can create jobs, combat crime, the drug trade and corruption, as well as provide better health care and quality education for every Ghanaian,” he stated.

He further said the group believed that those qualities could only be found in Dr Nduom’s PPP.

He noted that Dr Nduom’s appointment by the former President John Agyekum Kuffuor as the Minister of Energy in 2000 and as the Minister for Public Sector Reform in 2004 even though he was not an NPP member proved positive of his qualities as a credible leader.

Mr Sarfo, who was also the former Ashanti regional organiser of  the DFP, stressed that the decision taken by the life patron of the DFP party, Dr Yao Obed Asamoah and some members of the party to merge with the ruling NDC was ‘’ a personal decision without any consensus from the party’s executives’’.

‘’ Today, the majority of the DFP supporters across the country have given us the mandate to announce to Ghanaian populace and the NDC that we still hold to our earlier publication that we are not in support of the merger with the NDC’’ he said.

According to him, having accessed to both the past and present government since 1992 up to date, the NDC government lacked the ability to embark on effective policies which can quicken the pace of development.

He, therefore urged the entire nation to look at the works and leadership skills of Dr Nduom and rally behind him in the 2012 general election, adding that‘’ Ghana will be better off under his administration’’.

Mr Mordzinu Benedictus, the 2008 Hohoe North Parliamentary Candidate of DFP, told the Daily Graphic that he would bring more than 2000 supporters to PPP.

He explained that his decision was because the DFP currently had no effective leadership which could empower its members to make any meaningful impact in the political scope in the country, stating that he was sure that the PPP can emerge as one of the influential political parties in Ghana.

Some of the the members included,Sarfo Adams Junior Ashanti -Nii Kwantei Quartey Greater Accra Joachim Bonseu Upper west S.O. Opoku  Brong Ahafo Dzodzodzi Micheal Eastern Mordinu Benedictus  Volta  Adams Justice , North.