NPP youth boycott programme over absence of Interior minister

The youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Nandom Constituency of the Upper West Region at the weekend staged a walkout at the party’s Regional Youth Conference held in Wa.

The act was in protest against a decision by the organisers of the conference to exclude the name of Ambrose Dery, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Nandom constituency as the guest speaker of the programme which was under the auspices of the Upper West Regional Youth Secretariat.

The youth and some supporters of the NPP in the Nandom constituency came to the conference in their numbers in buses but upon reaching the Assembly Hall of the Wa Technical School where the programme was taking place, they realised the picture of Mr Dery was conspicuously missing from the banner that featured key speakers of the programme contrary to earlier information that their MP was the keynote speaker.

Replaced with Joe Ghartey, the Minister of Railways and Development and angered by the decision, the youth walked out of the conference, entered their buses and travelled back to Nandom.

Patrick Nakpenaah, the youth organiser for the Nandom constituency, explained that the decision to exclude Mr Dery as the guest speaker undermined his personality and the Nandom constituency at large.

“We cannot understand why his name was excluded, we came in our numbers because of him, if he is not available,, we have to go back,  we feel it is an attempt to undermine our MP,  the reason  we decided to leave the programme”.

Luri Tia Bosco, the Upper West Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP, expressed regret about the incident but said “it is due to miscommunication, it’s unfortunate, it’s no deal, is house matter. It is some one or two miscommunication that led to this unfortunate incident,  constituency youth organiser directed the youth wing from Nandom to go back because they felt I did not put Mr Dery’s picture on the banner  erected for programme, decision is without malice or any attempt to undermine Mr Dery.”

But the angry youth indicated that some other MPs and individuals who were invited but did not show up had their pictures on the banner hence their boycott. -citinewsroom.com