Internal problems - obstacle to NPP victory

WA, Oct.29, GNA- Mr Felix Owusu-Agyepong, a Presidential Aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has observed that the way and manner the Party conducted its internal politics has made its rank and file unhappy and that could be its major obstacle to electoral success in 2008. 'Talk to every objective Ghanaian and even our opponents and they all agree that our party has performed creditably in all fields of development but we have consciously not looked after out foot soldiers who helped us to win power well and seemed to be concerned more about ourselves". Mr Owusu-Agyepong, who was interacting with media personnel at Wa after a campaign tour of the Upper West Region promised to have a more acceptable panacea to this problem if he becomes the flag bearer of the party and wins the next elections. This problem in the Party, he noted, was partly due to the fact that the previous regime created several organizations that did things for its supporters without any challenge. "It was because of such deeds that Ghanaians voted them out of power and we can not go back and do the same things". He called on delegates to look for some one who could unite the people and be able to attract floating votes as well as marginalized voters from other political parties. "I am looking beyond my personal ambitions to see that the party stays united that is why among my competitors, I am about the only one that does not have campaign coordinators or agents in any region or constituency. I consider all constituency executives as my agents". He described himself as a humble intellectual who has vast experience in the public and private sectors and had played lead roles in both government and in opposition, remarking that if the voters were to "examine his past records of achievements they would give him first class". Ghanaians, he said, needed a development-oriented and practical leader who could create things out of nothing for the populace to enjoy. "We should not only talk about growth of Gross Domestic Product alone, but how many people have moved up from their present income levels as a consequence of such growth". 29 Oct. 07