A leading member of the Movement for Change, Solomon Owusu, has hit back at ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor over his recent lamentations of being sidelined by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The ex-President recently expressed disappointment about what he described as neglect and exclusion by the party’s activities he led to historic victories in the 2000 and 2004 general elections.
Speaking to flagbearer hopeful and Abetifi MP Bryan Acheampong, Mr Kufuor lamented the lack of engagement from the current NPP leadership, saying he is now kept in the dark about key developments.
“Have I deteriorated to the point where, after being fed, I’d claim I haven’t eaten? No—I haven’t reached that stage yet. My mind and memory are intact,” he said.
“The least the party can do is keep me informed. Let me hear what’s happening. And now… I’m being sidelined? Ignored? I don’t understand it. I really don’t,” he added.
However, speaking on Accra-based TV3’s New Day on Wednesday, July 16, Owusu asserted that the ex-President has no moral right to complain about exclusion.
He accused Mr Kufuor of remaining silent when former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took actions that weakened the party’s grassroots.
“Let me say this about the pronouncement by President Kufuor that he has been sidelined. I do not sympathise with him any day because he sat down unconcerned when it was happening to young ones within the party,” Owusu said.
He added, “The truth of the matter is that he kept quiet when more grievous things were happening in the party. So what is he talking about? If he had spoken in the past, I’m not sure the party would have gone into opposition. He has no business whatsoever speaking today.”
