Chairman Blay Lifts Red Card

The New Publisher applauds the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay, for publicly calling for an immediate halt on all forms of flag-bearer campaign within the party.

The call is long overdue but it is better late than never.

The call is in consonance with the spirit and letter of the constitution of the NPP and must be obeyed by all law abiding party members before the newly birthed poisonous baby snake grows into a monstrous hungry anaconda.

Understandably, none of the Ministers whose photos and names are on the campaign posters has owned up to associate with the 2024 agenda.

Even the Food and Agric Minister who was reported to have personally met with various persons at his residence in Kumasi to make known his presidential ambitions has denied ever making such an intention at the said meetings.

His statement issued to set the records straight however fell short of stating categorically whether or not he has such ambitions. That would be a topic for another day because it is not a difficult task to find out from the groups he reportedly met if indeed such a discussion took place.

Chairman Blay, understandably, explains to the media that though the party has had discussions on the development and nature of the several campaign fliers gone viral, no minister or even the Vice President has given any indication of being behind the production or circulation of such posters.

He said at best the prudent option would be to appeal to the supporters of the supposed minister-aspirants to desist from the act of campaigning ahead of time.

The National Chairman has spoken and the party ought to obey. This call is not just the personal opinion or instruction of Chairman Blay, but it is the basic constitutional dictates of the party that no one is permitted to start campaigning for a position the party has not certified him to contest.

Blay explains that the party is yet to organize polling station elections, constituency executive elections, regional executive elections, national executive elections and then flag-bearer primaries. Therefore it amounts to jumping the gun for any individual or group of persons to publicly campaign for a supposed presidential candidate slot by this time.

The NPP may find itself navigating a rather slippery slope, and one that could be politically suicidal, if this creeping sensitive development is not tackled with a tactful sense of urgency and firm-fairness across board.

If the slightest perception is allowed to be formed that the party is tying the hands of any aspirant hopeful to the advantage of another, that would be the genesis of a perilous intra party division.

An internal division that would be suicidal to an incumbent government seeking a third term mandate in a country where no party has broken the jinx of remaining in government beyond eight years in a row.

It would not be asking for too much to ask all appointees who have their photos in the campaign flyers being circulated to publicly issue an official disclaimer and ask their supporters to stop.

A stitch in time, they say saves nine.