The Director of Political Research for the United Party (UP), Dr. Ramzi Inusah, has rejected assertions that the party is shaken or hurt by Paul Afoko’s decision to rejoin the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and contest the national chairmanship.
Responding to comments by UG lecturer Dr. Joshua Zaato on TV3’s New Day, he said the claim that Afoko’s comeback weakens the UP is “propaganda” and “dead on arrival.”
“Mr. Paul Afoko is a person that I respect so much and admire so much but his escapade within the NPP has nothing to do with the UP,” Dr. Inusah said on October 29.
He stressed that Afoko never supported Alan Kyerematen’s Movement for Change nor joined the United Party after leaving the NPP.
“After we came out of the NPP, he was never part of us, he has never supported us. So if Zaato wants to portray us as if we are pained by it, such thought is dead on arrival.”
Dr. Inusah questioned whether Paul Afoko consulted his brother, Gregory Afoko, before returning to the NPP.
“I don’t know if he consulted Gregory Afoko. At a point when a court granted him bail, the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration insisted he is kept in Nsawam to rot. But for the coming of the NDC, Gregory Afoko would still be in prison.”
He suggested the family trauma could make the comeback difficult to accept privately.
Responding to suggestions that the UP comprises aggrieved ex-NPP members, Dr. Inusah rejected that label.
“We are a centrist party. we will work with each and every person including Gregory Afoko if he wants to work with us. We are neither left nor right. Ghana has been polarized for so many years… A collective centrist party can propel the fortunes of this country.”
He described UP’s founders not as bitter defectors, but as “ultra-nationalistic people” who left because the NPP abandoned good governance.
“We cared about Ghana. If you belong to a party that promotes looting, nepotism, kakistocracy and believes the fortunes of this country belong to their family, what crime did we commit by leaving?”
Dr. Inusah believes Afoko has no chance in the upcoming internal race because the NPP structure is already manipulated.
“The top-to-bottom approach is going to kill the agenda of Paul Afoko. The NPP today is what I call the Nana’s People’s Party. The voter album is manipulated. It will propel Mahamudu Bawumia.”
He concluded that Afoko’s bid is “dead on arrival.”
“All the shenanigans and machinations would not allow him to win. His coming to contest is dead on arrival.”
He added that if Bawumia emerges as flagbearer, it will still favor the UP.
“If you are going to a race, you use a vibrant horse, not a dead horse. A dead horse can never win a race. It is good news for us.”
