Freddie Blay
THE NEWLY elected national chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr. Freddie Blay, has called for unity to prevail after the party’s annual delegates’ conference held in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
According to him, events leading to the elections have created some misunderstanding among aspirants which may be seen as normal but said that should be nipped in the bud as the party gears up for the 2020 general elections.
Mr. Blay, who made the appeal when delivering his congratulatory speech after being declared winner of the national chairmanship race, said “although some toes may have been stepped on during the campaign period, let’s move on as a party to work for the good of Ghana. We must all come together and work towards retaining the seat in 2020 with our leader Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo”.
He commended party delegates for reposing trust in him and confirming him as the substantive chairman after acting for some years following the suspension of former chairman, Mr. Paul Afoko.
He congratulated his closest contender, Mr. Stephen Ntim, on conceding defeat and for his assurance to continue to support the party. He called on all delegates and supporters to do away with any anger the elections might have engendered.
He indicated: “It is victory just as my very good friend Stephen Ntim said . . . it is a victory not for individuals, but for the party.”
He said: “But one thing remains clear, and we want to send it right across to our opponents that we are now determined, not only to defend the government, not only to defend our days since 2016 but to win in 2020 and beyond . . .”
In 2016, Mr. Blay led the NPP to win the general elections massively.
President Akufo-Addo also urged aspirants who failed to secure victory to rally behind the new leaders to deliver quality leadership for the party ahead of the 2020 general elections.
The President was hopeful that the government would continue to deliver economic prosperity to Ghanaians if it retained power in 2020.
FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua