Report by Bernard K DADZIE
The General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr John Boadu, has stated that it will be in the best interest of the party to re-elect him ahead of the 2024 elections.
About five persons including John Boadu have so far hinted of their intentions to contest for the position. But the incumbent General Secretary believes none of the aspirants measure up to his wealth of experience.
Speaking at his campaign launched at Alisa Hotel in Accra, Mr. John Boadu said it will be politically unwise for the delegates to sidestep him for another General Secretary, considering the worth of investment the NPP has made in him over the years.
Mr. Boadu also believes it will be suicidal for the NPP to sideline the only experienced hand they have on board, especially when the party will be going into the 2024 general elections with a new Presidential Candidate, National Chairman, National Organizer, amongst others.
“I am a person who delivers. I was given the opportunity twice to help the party in power and have done nothing less. I have done exactly that and even more excellently by restructuring the party. From where I sit and per my records and experience, I am the best person for this position going to 2024,” he added.
“Considering that our National Chairman is out of the race and our National Organiser, who is now CEO for NLA, our Youth Organiser is eyeing the National Organiser position, and our Treasurer also changing position, also with new flagbearers and running mates, the party needs an experienced person now more than ever to guide it to victory,” he stated.
The NPP is hoping to attain power for the third time in the 2024 elections, hence, the mantra “Breaking the eight.”
It has already held its regional executive elections in 15 regions across the country, with the Central Region being the outstanding region. The elections were held over the weekend.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako and the Greater Accra Regional Chairman, Divine Otoo Agorhom, were among candidates who retained their seats.
Meanwhile, the Bono East NPP Regional Chairman, Thomas Adu-Appiah is among candidates who lost their seats.
Ibrahim Baba Bukari won the bid with a landslide victory after polling 151 out of 237 valid votes cast. In the Northern Region also, six executives retained their seat.
The incumbent Northern Regional Chairperson of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mohammed Adam Baantima Samba secured 238 votes representing 65.9 percent of the total votes cast to retain his position.
Mr Boadu noted that a letter will soon be issued to officially inform party members that nominations are open.
He therefore called all party members, members of Parliament, the regional chairmen and secretaries, regional organizers to support him to retain his position as a general secretary for the party in the upcoming general elections.
(Below is the full speech by Mr. John Boadu).
SPEECH BY JOHN BOADU DECLARING INTENTION TO CONTEST FOR RE-ELECTION AS GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NPP
“Breaking the 8 is not about testing the waters, it is about choosing the tested” – John Boadu
Making history together with the time-tested General
I stand on existing protocols to welcome you all to this august occasion and to thank you for honouring our invitation at a rather short notice. Today is a great day, and a great day is today. Today is the day the Lord has made, and we shall together, by His grace, commit ourselves to making history for our great party, the NPP and for our Ghana, our motherland.
Mr. Chairman, with the over 38,000 Polling Stations in the country having elected their executives; with close to 93% of Constituencies across the country having elected their executives; with all the regions in the in the country, except Central, having elected their executives, with all our external branches having elected their executives; it is now time for the NPP to elect a set of national executives to lead the party as we head into the 2024 general elections.
I wish to first of all take this opportunity to once again congratulate all our newly elected party executives at the polling station, electoral area, external branches, constituency, and regional levels. I also commend all those who were unsuccessful in the internal elections for putting themselves up to serve our great party, and wish them better luck next time. The enthusiasm and interests exhibited by the party grassroots during these internal elections clearly tells us that the party is still vibrant and attractive at its base and at all levels. It also speaks of our readiness going into the elections of 2024.
The decisions we will make as a party now, would have a direct impact on the party’s electoral fortunes during the 2024 general elections and whether the party can fulfil its appointment with destiny to break the 8.
As General Secretary of this great party, I am humbled to submit myself to this destiny-defining decision-making process and contest for re-election as your next General Secretary.
The election period is always an emotional one for me because it reminds me, once again, what the grace of God has accomplished for my life. It reminds me of my humble beginnings and the verse in the Bible that says ’Though your beginnings may be small, your end shall be great.”
My beginnings were indeed small. I began my journey as a polling station executive for Ablekuma. I did not have any higher political ambitions at the time; I just wanted to serve. I later became a Constituency Secretary. But God saw a General Secretary in me.
I went on to assume the position of Research and Information Director for Greater Accra Region and a National Finance Officer, but again, God saw a General Secretary in me. I later became the National Youth Treasurer. Then, you elected me to serve as the National Youth Organizer, following which you elected me as National Organizer, and I was happy to serve in these privileged roles, but again, God saw a General Secretary in me.
It would be recalled that at the peak of the NPP’s all-time worst internal crisis in the buildup to the 2016 general elections, resulting in the suspension of the party’s National Chairman and General Secretary, the burden of delivering a seemingly impossible electoral victory for the then “disintegrated and crisis-ridden NPP”, was essentially placed on the shoulders of me, as the then National Organizer of the Party. I had the onerous responsibility of organizing the rank and file of the party across all levels for the 2016 elections.
I was called upon by the National Executive Committee of the Party to assume the huge responsibility of heading the party’s National Secretariat as the Acting General Secretary. Additionally, I was given another layer of responsibility as the Director of Operations and Logistics for the party’s 2016 campaign.
I worked to unite and harmonize the 275 constituency campaigns with the Presidential campaign, as well as invigorate, incorporate, and include our growing volunteer groups with the regional and local campaign efforts.
In all this, John Boadu never complained; rather, I graciously accepted the challenge and went ahead to competently blend these three strategic positions, together with my communications prowess, and delivered an unprecedented victory for the NPP in the elections by winning the Presidential elections with over 1 million votes. Not only that, we also snatched as many as 55 Parliamentary Seats from the then governing NDC.
I was overwhelmingly appointed by the Party’s National Executive Committee as General Secretary because it was a fulfilment of what God saw in me when in 1995 I was serving as a polling station chairman at Korle-bu Polling Station in Ablekuma South Constituency who just wanted to serve my party and country.
I repeat this story because people with political ambition need to appreciate the importance of patience, preparation and God’s timing. It took me almost 30 years of selfless service to this great party before I got to where I am today. We are here because we worked and waited; we sit in front because we cleaned chairs at the back for others; we plan for the party today because we were the apprentices of those who planned for the party yesteryears. This is the reality of life.
Today, I can say with all humility that I am the only officer in the history of the NPP who has served the party in an executive position at every level of the party. Therefore, when I made 18 promises to you in 2018, it was not based merely on the desire to win but on the vast experience I had gathered from the many years I had served the party.
When I promised to ensure that the party pays monthly subventions to all the 275 constituencies and 16 regions of the country, it was because I drew from the challenges I faced as a constituency secretary in Ablekuma with regards to financing the activities of the Party.
By the grace of God, I have fulfilled this promise, becoming the first General Secretary to fulfill Article 11 of the Party’s Constitution that directs that regional and constituency secretaries are paid monthly allowances. It is worth noting that, we were the first and only political party in Ghana to implement this.
Also, I promised to recognize the old party loyalists by regularly providing financial support to recommended elders in each constituency; a promise that has been fulfilled but needs to be reviewed which I’m committed to doing.
I promised to set-up a unit at the party headquarters to liaise with Ministries, Departments and Agencies on existing job vacancies which qualified members could take advantage of. Again, we have delivered on this promise. The unit has been set up and continues to work.
We promised to revive the “adopt polling station, constituency” concept, and we have done it. We promised to assist young entrepreneurs in the party, and we have done it and continue to do it.
We promised to facilitate the procurement of vehicles for each constituency; each region and some identifiable structures of the Party. We have done that as well.
We promised to set up an ideological school and we have done it. A Governing Council is in place which is chaired by Rt. Hon Prof Mike Aeron Ocquaye. The School infrastructure is in place. Lesson content has been developed. Official inauguration to be done after these internal elections.
I promised to urge the National Council to set up conflict resolution committees at all party levels to quickly resolve local and regional conflicts. We have done it.
I acknowledge that these achievements were made possible because of the support and cooperation I received from all my colleague national officers, led by the National Chairman, Hon Freddy Blay; 1st National Vice Chairperson, Madam Rita Talata; 2nd National Vice Chair, FF Antoh; 3rd National Vice Chair, Omari Wadie; National Treasurer, Amankwa Yeboah; National Organizer, Sammi Awuku; National Youth Organizer, Nana Boakye; National Nasara Coordinator, Abdul Aziz Futah; National Women Organizer, Kate Gyamfua.
Undeniably, as a leader, I am not perfect. Although we promised to build constituency offices for constituencies that do not have permanent party offices, I have only managed to provide support for thirteen of them, and I am honest enough to admit that we should be doing better on this.
Furthermore, the party could have performed better in the 2020 parliamentary elections. It is conceded that in the 2020 elections, the party made a net loss of 32 parliamentary seats. Again, I am honest enough to take responsibility for this. However, it would be a great disservice to sound political analysis to perceive those losses as a reflection of the incompetence of the General Secretary, as some have said, especially those seeking to contest for this position.
They have gone ahead to make some weird claims including claims that I, the General Secretary, should be blamed because I had imposed Parliamentary Candidates on the party. I would encourage them to take their time and read the NPP Constitution very well. Certainly, persons who do not appreciate the provisions of the Party Constitution and how this party is run, ought to have no business seeking to lead the Party, else, they might all be led into an abyss.
I am gracious enough to give them some education and guidance. They should take their time and read at least Article 12 on Selection of Parliamentary Candidates. No single individual in this party, not even the President, can decide who to represent the Party as a Parliamentary Candidate. That responsibility is solely within the remit of the National Executive Committee of the Party. They should also read the composition of the National Executive Committee of the Party under Article 10 (4), and they would realize that a General Secretary, is really a minute fraction of this committee, and cannot have his way if the committee thinks otherwise.
Again, the point must be made that the Party won the parliamentary seats in constituencies where the Party, acting through the National Executive Committee, managed to build consensus to allow some Candidates to go unopposed having regard to the special circumstances of these constituencies. The Party rather lost in constituencies where there was no consensus and the party had to allow competitive primaries. Mention can be made of constituencies like Akwatia, Navrongo, Krowor, Tema East, Okaikoi North, La Dadekotopon, Wulensi, Adenta, and many others. We probably would have lost constituencies like Tarkwa, Gushegu and many others if we had allowed competitive primaries.
That said, anyone who cannot read the nuances of political results and break down the complex pattern of the NPP’s pattern of parliamentary performance does not deserve the high office of General Secretary.
For instance, we reached very, very dizzy heights in 2016 when we won 169 seats out of 276 seats, representing 61.4% of all seats in parliament; a feat that is the highest we have ever achieved as a party and in the parliamentary history of Ghana. This feat of snatching 55 seats from the then ruling party was as unthinkable as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and moved us deep into enemy territory.
But the point must be made that with the 55 seats we snatched from the NDC in 2016, most of them were the outcome of ‘skirt and blouse’ voting in the NDC which was brought about as a result of their acrimonious parliamentary primaries and disunity culminating in many incidences of Independent Parliamentary Candidates from their stock. However, in 2020, we didn’t see much of that from the NDC, and so, we could not benefit as we did in 2016. In fact, it is worthy of note that in 23 out of the 55 parliamentary seats we snatched from the NDC in 2016, we lost in the Presidential.
Again, with the attainment of the unprecedented heights we chalked in 2016, there was always the risk of slipping, particularly, when faced with challenges such as the delay in the party’s parliamentary primaries as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as many issues of incumbency disadvantages as the governing party. It was, therefore, unsurprising that the party lost in almost every “coastal and galamsey constituency”.
That notwithstanding, the NPP still maintained its resilience, snatching 17 seats from the NDC in 2020 and winning the Presidential elections with a margin exceeding 500,000 valid votes; another unprecedented electoral feat in the 4th Republic for a political party seeking a second term in office.
It must be noted that at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, almost all sitting governments that went into elections, lost the elections. This is because of the untold hardship that was brought about by the deadly pandemic, which had shuttered almost the world economy. The governments of Germany, USA, India and many others lost their respective elections because of the hardship brought about by the pandemic.
However, we in the NPP, managed to defy these odds, went into the elections of 2020, and won. In the Presidential elections, we made history by winning with over 500,000 votes, which is the highest margin of victory secured by a political party seeking a second term in office. I have already indicated the challenges we had with our parliamentary primaries, which largely had to do with the delay in holding these primaries, because of the Covid outbreak, an unforeseen occurrence.
The 2020 parliamentary results could, therefore, be viewed as a bit of turbulence that is experienced when an aircraft is flown very high. Passengers may get anxious during turbulence, however, rather than being condemned for the turbulence, the pilot is applauded for eventually steering the plane to safety and for demonstrating bravery, experience and calmness in the midst of turmoil.
Now that the party has been steered to safety after a turbulent election period, it is time to examine the trajectory of the flight and make the necessary corrections and improvements ahead of the next flight.
During this period of reflection, let us not look at THE PRESENT AND FORGET THE PAST. I would, therefore, at this juncture, remind the party and our esteemed members of some important issues of the past.
The good book says ‘Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and FORGET NOT his wonderful benefits. If God does not want his benefits to be forgotten how much more the General Secretary of the NPP?
We must not forget that before 2016, the party had developed a reputation for losing seats and going to court. It was common to hear Ghanaians say “as for NPP if you vote for them, they will sit down, lose and claim that they were cheated” and “oh as for NPP, they always get bullied in the elections by the NDC.”
Ghanaians trusted us with their votes but feared we could not count, protect, and defend these votes. However, all that changed in 2016.
With great humility, the election management style of the NPP was changed during my tenure as General Secretary in 2016 when we successfully rolled out a robust IT architecture – an election management software known as pink sheet tracking system which had never been seen before in Ghana’s politics.
We did not rely on the Electoral Commission. We did not rely on the media. We relied on a homegrown party strategy, the pink sheet tracking system, which made it possible for the Party to collate its nationwide election results from all the 38,000 polling stations in a record time of less than 12 hours after the polls.
In 2020, we collated our results and knew the outcome within six hours after the close of polls. And God willing in 2024, we will work to get our results in less than four hours. We have broken every record in election management in Ghana.
Because of this, the NPP is no longer the party that loses and goes to court. And even if we are to go court, we shall go there with all our pink sheets properly collated. We would not embarrass ourselves like we saw the NDC do in their 2020 tea and biscuit elections petition. The NPP is no longer the party that gets cheated in elections. We now have the fastest election-collation machine in Ghana. We are faster than the EC, and even faster than the media.
Let us not forget the brains behind the most successful election machinery in the party’s history. In 2024, we have an election to win. It is not a time to test the waters.
People have suggested that, having worked to deliver two successive victories for the Party as General Secretary, I should consider taking appointment to serve in Government. But, I felt the Party has invested so much in me, having spent almost my entire adult life serving the NPP, particularly at the Party Headquarters. I therefore could not think of leaving the Party Headquarters at this material moment, not even for the most lucrative job on earth, be it in Government or otherwise.
My position is fortified by the fact that our great Party is seeking do what no political party in the Fourth Republic has been able to do, which is to break the 8 and win thus, win three successive general elections. To achieve this, the Party needs to put forward its best foot forward, and here, ‘experience’ will count a lot. This is the time the rich experience that I have acquired in working for the party will be needed the most.
Certainly this is the time the NPP needs my organizational and election-winning experience as General Secretary. Even more compelling is the fact that our great party, the NPP, is going into the 2022 general elections, with a new National Chairman, because our current National Chairman is not seeking re-election. We are also going to have a National Organizer because our current National Organizer, is not seeking re-election. Even more, we are going to also have a new presidential candidate and a new running mate going into this crucial election of 2024.
So, after considering all these factors, and the fact that the NDC is preparing to line up their most experienced national officers (current and former) to prosecute their 2024 campaign, I felt that, NO, this will be a very bad time for me to leave the Party and go into government. Now more than ever, the Party needs my experience as the longest serving National Officer of the Party having spent more than two decades at the Party Headquarters as a Party Officer, to guide and assist the new National Executives and the new Presidential Candidate and new Running Mate deliver the much needed victory for the party.
As a Party, our history ought to be our guide, and we must learn the necessary lessons from same. In the year 2007, ahead of the 2008 General Elections, we made a disastrous mistake as a Party and virtually elected an entirely new set of National Executives, and of course, as it turned out, the Party recorded one of its worst electoral defeat. Certainly, ‘experience’ is not something that can be traded, and our Party cannot and should not sacrifice experience for anything.
I wish to conclude by talking about the current state of the party, as evidence of our level of preparedness towards the 2024 general elections. This is to show that as an experienced General Secretary, I have ensured and continue to ensure that the Party is well organized and focused only on winning elections and nothing more, nothing less. On account of this, today, I am able to say confidently that, by dint of our hard work as National Officers, working in hand in hand with the various regional and constituency party executives, the NPP is rightly so, the most vibrant and best organized political party in Ghana.
Indeed, despite the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on political activities particularly in the year 2021, the NPP, was the only Party in Ghana, and I dare say, in Africa, that was able to put in place proper arrangements and protocols that made it possible for the Party to hold Annual Delegates Conferences in all 275 constituencies, and16 regions of the country, which were climaxed with a National Annual Delegates Conference held in Kumasi, in December 2021. These conferences excite and invigorate the Party’s base as they provide the necessary platforms for party grassroots and executives to interact and take stock of party activities and strategize for the coming years.
Not only that, we are also the only political party in Ghana that has been able to organize conferences in all the over 38,000 polling stations in the country, on our own, without the help of any election management body, to elect polling station executives, in just two weeks. This feat, can certainly, only be achieved by a well-organized party. Our main political opponents, the NDC, had fixed six months to conduct their branch elections to elect polling station executives, an yet, they have still not been able to even commence that executives. Yet, this is something we, in the NPP, have been able to do in just two weeks, on our own.
Following the successful conduct of these polling station elections, we moved on to organize Electoral Area Coordinators Elections across the country, as well as Constituency Annual Delegates Conferences to elect Constituency Executives. We have equally successfully undertaken a nationwide membership registration, and would soon rollout new biometric membership ID cards. Everything is set for the implementation of this new ID system; it has only delayed because of the ongoing internal elections. Again, the NPP as usual, is the only political party in Ghana that has been able to successfully come this far insofar as preparations towards the 2024 elections are concerned.
The point must be made that these enviable feats were not achieved by mere chance, but as a result of the competent and experienced leadership we have put in place as leaders of the party, and the cooperation we continuously get from the our rank and file particularly party executives at the various levels. The NPP is therefore the Party that is most prepared political party for the next elections, owing to the strategic interventions that we have rolled out.
Having come this far with the Party, and having laid this solid foundation in preparation towards the 2024 General Elections, it is imperative for the Party to allow those of us who have led this reorganization process and more, to complete what we have successfully started, and deliver the much needed victory in 2024. Certainly, this is not the time to bring an entirely new and relatively inexperienced team to lead the Party in what promises to be the most difficult General Elections to be contested by the Party, as we seek to break the 8, which no political party has been able to do in this Fourth Republic.
The Party, by the end of these National Elections, must come out with an excellent blend of the experienced hands, such as an experienced General Secretary, who has seen it all, to guide and assist the New National Chairman, the new National Treasurer, the New National Organizer, the New National Youth Organizer, and more importantly, the New Presidential Candidate, to effectively prosecute the elections of 2024, in order to break the eight-year cycle.
On this note, I humbly call on our party members, all polling station executives (current and former), all constituency executives (current and former), all MMDCEs (current and former), all Members of Parliament (current and former), all government appointees (current and former), all regional executives (current and former), and indeed every member of the Party, to rally behind me. I can on all to support me to retain my position as General Secretary of great party. Repose the trust and confidence in me, as you have always done, and join me to make history for our party. Indeed, together, we can make history of breaking the eight to continue to deliver prosperity to our people and country.
Thank you.
