Nduom hot over new ‘CPP’ movement

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Thursday May 5, 2011
Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the 2008 Presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) is said to have been reprimanded by the party’s bigwigs over the alleged formation of a movement within the CPP called Movement for Social Justice (MSJ).

Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom was summoned to appear before the Central Committee of the CPP at a meeting in Accra recently where he was asked to explain his reasons for promoting the movement without official sanction.

Sources at the meeting said Dr. Nduom fumbled several times in an attempt to explain himself after the party’s executives descended heavily on him and it took the intervention of his friend Mike Eghan to rescue him.

They were said to have accused Dr. Nduom of being a ‘divisive force’ within the CPP and lambasted the party’s Chairman Ladi Nylander for always ‘shielding’ Dr. Nduom.

Mr. Eghan, also a leader in the CPP according to the source had to beg for the Adwumawura as he is affectionately called when his friend was suffered a humiliating exposure.

Dr. Nduom according to the Central Committee is clandestinely using the movement to shore up his bid to lead the party again when the CPP goes to congress to select a Presidential candidate for the 2012 general election.

The committee was said to have expressed grave concern about the way and manner in which it is being inundated with petitions from some members of the party to stop the Adwumawura’s movement.

Petitions from the Ashanti, Central and Eastern Regions raising objections to the filing and closing of nominations for the positions as constituency executives have already been sent to the party’s headquarters.

As if that is not enough, four CPP constituency executives in the Central Region have filed a suit at the Cape Coast High Court to restrain both the Regional and National Executive Council of the party from “doing anything contrary to the constitution of the party.”

They also want the party’s executives to ban the Movement for Social Justice which is traced to Dr. Nduom as well as an order the CPP executives to “follow the proper legal procedure for the pending elections as enjoined by the constitution of the party.”

In their statement of claim the plaintiffs contended that the national executives did not have the power to ‘call-in’ elections earlier before confirmation of the national congress.

They also claimed that the regional executives failed to notify all interested members of the party about the intended elections and also distributed nomination forms to CPP members who belong to the Movement for Social Justice alone.

In the petition sent from the Ashanti Region and endorsed by 20 CPP concerned members on March 29, 2011 and forwarded by K. Ampem Darko ESQ objected to filling of nominations papers for the constituency election which was to be closed on March 30, 2011.

They said among other things that their complaint is “hinged on the premise that there was no publicity of such an exercise and also the time limit is so short that most members who want to contest for positions will not be able to do so for lack of information and publicity.”

“The whole exercise is clothed with secrecy to prevent eligible and capable members from contesting.”

For their part, the concerned CPP members in the Central Region in their petition of March 28, 2011 filed by ‘Adastra’ Chambers, said there is the popular believe that the regional executives have proven to be ‘grossly incompetent’ and ‘bias’ in the way they are conducting themselves.

They said the regional executives have failed to visit some the constituencies and were ‘actively’ engaged “in organizing a parallel political organization called the Movement for Social Justice”, an organization it claimed is planning to ‘upstage’ perceived political opponents in the party.

In the petition of 21 members from the Eastern Region, filed on April 6, 2011 by Sir S. Asante Ansong & Co said “we want to register our vehement objection to any intended filing and closing of nomination for constituency elections for Eastern Region between April 6 and April 14, 2011.”

They said the timing of the notice is too short and added that the whole exercise was “shrouded in secrecy to prevent eligible and capable members from contesting the elections and intended to favour the rich who may not be committed to the good cause of the CPP.”