The Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi is getting ready to host the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Annual National Delegates Conference from December 18 to 20, 2021.
Fliers of the party have been laced through major roads in Greater Kumasi, especially those leading to the Baba Yara Stadium, the venue for the three-day event.
Major roundabouts such as the Airport Roundabout, Santasi and Suame, as well as the Sofo Line Interchange, have all been inundated with NPP fliers and billboards.
Although the party has placed a ban on campaign posters of aspirants to national office positions and the flag bearer position of the party, supporters and sympathisers of some of the aspirants have mounted posters and billboards of their preferred candidates.
The situation has warranted the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei Mensah, to direct all assemblies to remove all billboards.
“I am requesting anyone who has mounted or pasted any of such items within the region to remove them latest by 12 midnight on December 15, 2021,” he told the Daily Graphic in an interview last Tuesday.
He said he would be left with no option than to cause the removal of the billboards and posters if they failed to comply with the directive by the deadline.
On security arrangements, the minister hinted that the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) had put adequate measures in place to ensure the safety of all delegates before, during and after the conference.
“We will have a successful conference,” he assured Ghanaians.
Ban on campaigning
Ahead of the Kumasi conference, the NPP had placed a ban on all activities associated with internal party contests, parliamentary and presidential primaries, as well as the display of paraphernalia and advocacy of aspirants at the conference venue.
“Prior to and during the conference from December 18 to 20, 2021, no billboards and or signboards, banners or any kind of outdoor signage with the images and or names of individual members, with or without the consent of the individual, shall be acceptable. This applies to the area within the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. All such displays, if put up already, should be removed,” a statement issued by the party said.
The statement, signed by its Director of Communications, Mr Yaw Buaben Asamoa, said the decision was taken at a meeting of the National Steering Committee of the party last Thursday.
It said no T-shirts, flyers, brochures and/or souvenirs, branded and or embossed with the portraits and names of individuals shall be allowed within the precincts of the conference, including but not limited to places of accommodation for delegates.
“Any person, with or without his or her consent, whose image is flaunted on any advocacy material and who does not take active steps to desist from any public display of aspiration for a position within the precincts of Greater Kumasi runs a higher risk of disqualification in the event nominations are declared open,” it said.
It said the 2021 National Annual Delegates Conference was a time of renewal for the party.
Source: graphic.com.gh
