He has made himself a bit unpopular by his chronically cantankerous behavior; still, Mr. Daniel Bugri-Naabu, the Northern Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), is indisputably the eyes and pulse of the party in his jurisdiction. And so his concern that some NPP-Members of Parliament are viciously subverting the authority of President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, barely six months into his administration, ought to be taken with all the seriousness that it deserves. Mr. Bugri-Naabu may very well be exaggerating the true picture of things on the ground a bit; but at least he has creditably established his bona fides as a straight-shooter whose concerns may only be ignored at a great peril to the fortunes of the party in the region (See “NPP Losing Ground in Northern Region – Party Chairman Warns” MyJoyOnline.com 7/31/17).
In his latest report, the NPP’s Northern Regional Chairman claims that some party parliamentarians are smack behind the recent rejection of several Akufo-Addo nominees for the post of District Chief Executive (DCE). We thought this sort of teething problem was well behind us. For the information of these alleged party wreckers, the 1992 Constitution clearly spells out the especial prerogative of the elected President of our Republic to select appointees for the posts of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs). However, out of the goodness of his own heart and the imperative need to both enhance and advance the quality of Ghanaian democracy, President Akufo-Addo has decided to ensure that within the shortest possible time, all these local executive positions would become elective. Indeed, it probably would be happening right now, except for the fact that a few constitutional hurdles need to be negotiated.
By attempting to subvert the present system for selecting and appointing our local executive administrators, the allegedly subversive NPP-MPs may be pushing their luck too hard and making an already difficult problem even worse, if not impossible. The party chiefs in the region, and at the national level as well, need to call the recalcitrant MPs to order. Those who adamantly refuse to budge, or see reason, may have to be targeted for either expulsion or outright elimination from the party’s ticket altogether. The preceding observations notwithstanding, it also bears reminding Mr. Bugri-Naabu that it will take quite a while for some members of the electorate to fully and staunchly rally behind the Akufo-Addo Administration. Ghanaians are quite notorious for their impatience; and so there is absolutely no reason for party stalwarts like the Northern Region’s NPP Chairman to panic or resort to unnecessary political hiccupping and alarmism.
It is not going to be smooth sailing or a jolly ride through and through, as it were. There are going to occur a few bumps and rough rides here and there, now and again, until the desired goals and results are achieved. Till then, let all of us haunch down, dirty our hands with the sort of heavy-lifting that produces good and quick results.
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