Charles Bissue (3rd left) in a handshake with Mireku Duker together with the peacemakers
A five-member committee set up by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been able to broker peace between two leaders of the party in the Western Region—Charles Bissue and George Mireku Duker—who recently engaged in a fisticuff at a party meeting.
The two who are the Regional Secretary of the NPP and the Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem respectively have agreed to work together in the interest of the NPP in the region.
It would be recalled that Mr. Bissue, a presidential staffer, and Mr. Duker, the NPP MP for Tarkwa-Nsuaem in the region, recently threw blows in the presence of some of the party’s leaders, including the National Campaign Manager of the party, Peter Mac Manu.
In the process, Mr. Bissue was reported to have ‘chewed’ the middle finger of the right hand of the MP, a claim he later denied.
The incident happened during a meeting involving some national officers, regional executives of the NPP as well as some metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, MPs and parliamentary candidates in the region and a committee was subsequently set up to broker peace between the two.
The members of the committee included Joseph Amoah, former regional minister, Dr. Isaac Kofi Sagoe, Esther Nyantakyi, both senior members of the ruling party; Kwesi Nkrumah, a former Mayor for Sekondi-Takoradi and Nana Kojo Ansah, also a an active member of the party.
After the committee had succeeded in brokering peace, the two were seen in a photo circulating on social media shaking hands. Also in the picture were some party elders who were tasked to settle the matter.
The two subsequently pledged to work together not only in the interest of the NPP in the Western Region, but also to rekindle a relationship that they both cherished.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Duker described the incident as unfortunate and apologised for the incident but argued that he had to defend himself since he was attacked.
“It was an unfortunate event which should not have happened, but I will say, sometimes it happens in life. I have already indicated to my supporters and well-wishers that I could not do anything because I had to defend myself,” he explained.
Mr. Bissue also assured NPP faithful and the general public that he bears no grudges with his ‘age-old friend’, Mr. Duker.
He said the two of them would work hard in the bigger interest of the NPP and to ensure a resounding victory for the party come December 7 this year.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi