‘Alhaji Short Better Known Than Ntim’

Mr Kwabena Marfo, spokesperson for Alhaji Abubakar Abdul-Raman (Alhaji Short), who is vying for the chair slot of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said his boss is better known in the party than his arch-rival Stephen Ntim, who is having a fourth go at the position.

Mr Marfo said Alhaji Short is a “mature politician… who is more known than Stephen Ntim in this party. Stephen just joined us in 96. When we started NPP, ask Stephen Ntim where he was, wasn’t he in Canada? [In] 1992 Alhaji Abubakar Abdul-Raman was with us, he organised the party in Upper West even then for the late Professor Adu Boahen, so, how could you say this man is not known in the party.”

Mr Marfo who was speaking to Banjamin Akakpo on Class91.3FM’s 505 news programme on Monday, 16 April 2018, explained that through the hard work of Alhaji Short, who has been the party’s Upper West regional chairman, the region won “five strong parliamentary seats and added more votes to the presidential [election]; these are the kind of people we need”.

Alhaji Short, he said, is not a talker but a hard worker who has managed to secure the fortunes of the party in the NDC-dominated region.

Mr Marfo was reacting to a leaked audio recording purported to be the voice of Mr Ntim in which the four-time aspirant described Alhaji Short as an unknown politician.

The tape was from a meeting in Koforidua where Mr Ntim met with some members of the party.

Already rumours are rife that during a meeting with President Akufo-Addo, the party’s national executives and some of the aspirants, Mr Ntim and other certain aspirants were allegedly asked to step down for the President’s preferred candidates, including Alhaji Short.

In the leaked recording, Mr Ntim is heard allegedly casting aspersions at President Akufo-Addo and Alhaji Short.

However, Mr Marfo insisted that the President “believes in democracy…let’s go and let the masses choose the popular amongst them, he [Mr Akufo-Addo] believes in that so when people are making those statements that the President has asked them to step down, well I haven’t heard directly from the President, so, I can’t talk anything about it.”

Source: ClassFMonline