About 300 members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) including five former assembly members in the Ashanti Region have defected to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Addressing a press conference in Kumasi, spokesperson for the group and former assembly member of Bomso Electoral Area, Henry Osei Akoto, cited poor leadership within the NPP as their reason for the cross-carpeting.
“Our bold decision to choose the NDC party and to strongly support the re-election bid of President John Mahama is because of leadership paralysis that has hit the NPP under the stewardship of Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said.
The group claims NPP has become “the most unattractive” political party in Ghana, which is only ready to accommodate “servile bootlickers and sycophants” who cannot stand up to the divisive tendencies of its leader Nana Akufo-Addo.
The defectors say NDC is attractive because of the unity within the party and development projects executed for livelihood enhancement of Ghanaians.
Their support to the party is to help achieve the one million vote target in Ashanti Region.
The group has condemned the recent hooting of President Mahama at the Manhyia Palace when he joined the observation of the one-week rite for the late Asante queeenmother, Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem.
“We condemn unreservedly the shameful hooting and heckling of President John Dramani Mahama by elements of the NPP last week at the Manhyia Palace as this unruly conduct smacks of disrespect to the Otumfuor and the Asante Kingdom as a whole,” they said.
They called on the youth to defy any intimidation to join victory train of the NDC.
Ashanti Regional Communications Director of the NDC, Samed Akalilu, welcomed the defectors and tasked each of the 300 members to rope in five NPP members each to the NDC.
According to him, the recent defections to the NDC indicate the party is on track to achieving its one million vote target.
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