Paul Afoko has reflected on his journey to becoming National Chairman of the opposition NPP, recounting the hurdles he encountered and the reforms he eventually introduced.
The former party Chairman acknowledged that his path was far from easy, as he endured opposition, smear campaigns, and allegations of vote-buying.
Nevertheless, he said, he was able to clinch victory with a convincing majority.
“You see, for those who opposed me, those who didn’t want me to be chairman and fought me all the way, as I said, vote buying, mudslinging, lies being told, all of that, I still won with a huge majority. They never gave up,” he recounted.
He said that some rivals went so far as to mock his victory. “In fact, I was told that one of them said, ‘Osee obidi Chairman, y3 k) Nkran, obi di Chairman n3 y3n why3 (he says he wants to be a chairman, we going to Accra, he should come there and be the chairman what). He’s still alive, and he knows himself,” Ofoko remarked.
Moving to Accra after his election, Afoko said he was determined to reform the party and reshape its image.
“I didn’t want this party to continue being seen only as a massive party of the people. I wanted reforms,” he explained.
One of the reforms, he disclosed, was a new financial structure aimed at strengthening grassroots operations.
“I insisted on every constituency in this country opening a bank account, and I pushed 10,000 cedis into every single constituency,” he revealed.
Afoko noted that the initiative was not warmly received by all, even within the party’s executive.
“Yes, and I was opposed strongly, even within the executive. Why? Why should you be sending the money to constituencies? Oh really? No, no, no, don’t do that. But I said it was the right thing to do.”
